Multi-tier blockchain-based system and method for document transformation and accountability

ABSTRACT

A multi-tier blockchain-based method for document transformation and accountability is provided. A set of transaction documents for transfer of real property is received. At least a portion of the transaction documents is processed by providing the transaction documents to a tier of supernodes and selecting one of the supernodes. The transaction documents are added via the selected supernode to a blockchain maintained by each supernode. An immutable record of the transaction documents is transmitted from the selected supernode to a different tier of network nodes. One of the network nodes is identified to commit the immutable record of the transaction documents to a blockchain of the different tier. The immutable record of the transaction documents is committed to copies of the blockchain stored by the other network nodes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§ 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent application, Ser. No. 62/728,051,filed Sep. 6, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference.

FIELD

This application relates in general to transforming and managingdocuments, and in particular to a multi-tier blockchain-based system andmethod for listing document transformation and accountability.

BACKGROUND

Real estate purchases and sales are the largest financial transactionsand investments for many people, especially with the increasing cost ofreal estate. Due to the cost and time required for a real estatetransaction, many individuals are infrequently involved in suchtransactions and may not be familiar with regulations governing thetransactions and issues that can arise. Additionally, real estatetransactions are complex and involve many details and issues.Accordingly, many purchasers and buyers choose to hire a knowledgeableadvocate to assist with the transaction, including a real estate agent,broker, or lawyer. Real estate agents and brokers can provide a party tosuch transaction with useful information, including options and risksregarding the transaction. Further, agents and brokers have legal andfinancial responsibilities to ensure that a transaction is successfullyperformed and that the transaction complies with all applicableguidelines and regulations.

Over the years, the amount of documentation involved in supporting realestate transactions and financing of such transactions has grown. Therequired documents have become increasingly numerous and complex, andassuring compliance has become more difficult. The documentationrequirements generally differ from one community to another, so agentsand brokers must pay attention to the differences in local regulations.They must also keep up with changes in the regulations for all of therelevant governing bodies for every transaction. Also, governing bodiesare overlapping and any transaction occurring within the jurisdiction ofboth governing bodies, must comply with the regulations of the governingbodies. For example, there are often separate regulations for aneighborhood, city, county and state in which a piece of property islocated.

Ensuring compliance with all guidelines and regulations can be timeconsuming and difficult. However, failure to comply with the regulationscan potentially invalidate real estate transactions and can expose realestate brokers and agents to litigation and possible liability forfailed transactions. In addition to the property transaction itself,listing agents that represent individuals or entity selling property,must also perform and coordinate other activities and actions to helpthe seller prepare the property for sale. The listing agent is generallythe first real estate involved in a real estate sale.

Preparing a property for sale can include painting, removing clientbelongings, staging the property with sample furniture and decoration,and yard work. Often times, the listing agent is tasked with identifyingany work that should or must be performed on the property, as well asfinding experts or service providers to perform the identified work.

Currently, most real estate transactions are preformed manually,requiring an individual, such as an agent or broker, to identify,collect, and populate documents required to complete a real estatetransaction. The agent or broker must also ensure that the documentscontain any updates and are correctly populated. Such manual tasks canbe time consuming due to a number of documents required and thedifferent requirements established by differing regulations betweengoverning bodies.

Additionally, real estate brokers and agents representing clients areexpected to oversee the checking of real estate records, such as via atitle company. Due diligence includes checking public records to verifythat the person selling the property is the last recorded owner and thatthere are no gaps in the history. For instance, in the United States,counties maintain land records and file records of new transactions.Typically, the county clerk maintains a database of property records andthe history of the transfer of property from one owner to the next isknowns as a chain of title. Although the law does not require that deedsbe filed with the county, in some areas, there may be consequences fornot filing. If a deed is not recorded, this creates a missing link inthe chain of title in the public record. In most jurisdictions, if atitle dispute turns into a lawsuit, the most recently filed deed onrecord typically takes precedence over a deed that has not beenrecorded.

Property transactions also include other important information that ispart of the public record, including records of easements. Aright-of-way easement grants other designated groups of people specifickinds of access to the property. For example, owners may be required togrant neighbors the right to travel over their land or they may berequired to give the gas company the right to access a pipe buried ontheir land. A property easement is recorded with the county. Similarly,a right-of-way grant may give an owner access to a neighboring property.For example, the driveway to an owner's property may not be entirely onthe owner's land. The grant may involve some responsibilities, such asmowing or maintaining the land. A buyer of property may discover aright-of-way grant that has gone through multiple previous owners.

A property seller usually receives a payment or “consideration” inexchange for granting a transfer of ownership. If the buyer is takingout a mortgage to buy property, then a lender will be involved. Lendersrequire clear title and typically require title insurance. Titleinsurance insures against financial loss from defects in title to realproperty and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans.If the property owner has had others work on the property and has notpaid them, there may be liens or debts on the property which need to beresolved when a property is sold.

In summary, real estate transactions require much checking before atitle should be transferred or moneys should be exchanged. Oftenconsiderable money is at stake. These factors create a large and ongoingneed for accountability and transparency in the documentation andprocesses of real estate transactions. Real estate agents and brokersmust ensure that the document packages are correctly and carefullygenerated, and title for the property of the transaction is clear. Sucherrors and other failures to comply with the required regulations caninvalidate a transaction and can expose agents and brokers to costlylitigation, as well as stain a reputation of the agent or broker.

Further, real estate agents are also responsible for making a series ofjudgement calls about services and advice offered to clients, inaddition to ensuring due diligence has been performed. For instance,should a house be staged as part of its marketing plan or should thesellers invest in refurbishing the kitchen, leaving as is, or remodelingcompletely. Further questions, such as should sellers accept an earlybut low-seeming offer or hold out for a better offer, or should theyagree to expensive fix-up requests from a potential buyer, are alsocommon, as well as questions, such as did the listing agent inform andgain the consent of the sellers about particular courses of action orservices provided, or did the listing agent adequately advise thesellers about the relative risks of one course of action over another?

Documentation about the professional performance of listing agents isgenerally outside the scope of government-held public record systems andmostly covers information about the services performed by the listingagent. The relationship between the listing agent and the seller iscovered by a signed contract and the body of collected informationincludes personal information about the seller that needs to be heldconfidentially.

In the event that issues arise after the sale, preserving informationabout listing services can be important for the seller, the listingagent, and sometimes other stakeholders, such as the brokerage. Incurrent practice, the records containing this information are generatedand preserved by multiple sources including records kept by the seller,records kept by the selling broker, records from financial institutions,reports from inspectors, reports from real estate researchers, andothers. If after the sale the seller or other stakeholders need toreexamine a case, they will want to retrieve documentation about whatwas known or done while the transaction was being developed andnegotiated. Accordingly, the many manual steps and the use of separatedatabases of records across institutions increase errors and raise costsof real estate transactions.

In recent years, news reports from many sectors of society have led toincreased public awareness about society's vulnerability to computerfailures. The news media frequently report on cyberattacks, identitytheft and data loss as well as data leaks, threats to informationinfrastructure, and privacy concerns. Governments have become moreconcerned and active in trying to protect and regulate computer systems.At the same time, the public use and dependence on the internet hasraised general expectations that computer services should be rapid,accurate and reliable and that important government-maintained publicrecords should have appropriate transparency for public use.

To support the incontrovertible associations of property assets withtheir legal titles, both the public and stakeholder transactiondocuments for real estate transactions need to accurately andtransparently represent and immutably preserve enduring property andtransaction information. Trust and reliability in real estatetransactions depend on the certainty that everything is accounted for.However, the current foundations for keeping records of real estatetransactions rely on an aging and fragmented set of institutions andlegacy computer systems that were created before modern computersafeguards were understood and made widely available.

An institutional challenge of the current approach is that the diverserecords concerning real estate transactions, such as county propertyrecords logs, financial records, title records, and so on are held bymultiple and diverse institutions, in diverse and varied formats oncomputer systems with widely varying security procedures, transparency,and provisions for public access. Every stakeholder institution has itsown data security procedures and its own policies regarding data backupand use of redundancy for security and is potentially and individuallyvulnerable to human and computer-based tampering. There is much room forimprovement in creating systems with comprehensive access, tamperproofguarantees and validity checks, and robust archiving for all of thehistoric records in property transactions.

Real estate agents and brokers need to cope with a myriad of stakeholderinstitutions with their legacy data bases and transaction-supportingprocesses that evolved in an ad hoc fashion as institutions adaptedcomputers to support their businesses and daily activities. There is agrowing gap between stakeholders' experience of real estate transactionsand growing public expectations for instantaneous and reliable access topublic records including records of property ownership. The challengesof compliance and transparency and enduring accountability today alsocreate unnecessarily high costs for real estate transactions. Further,although the stakeholder institutions in real estate transactions usecomputers and communication devices for messaging in the back-officework of supporting real estate transactions, most of the work is manual,time-consuming, error-prone, and expensive.

Blockchain is a continuously growing set of record or “blocks” that forma ledger of transactions. The blocks are linked and secured bycryptographic methods and provide an approach that is trustworthy andtransparent for the storage of the blocks. At least one county, CookCounty, Ill., has utilized blockchain technology to transfer and trackproperty titles. See,https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2018/01/12/three-ways-blockchain-could-transform-real-estate-in-2018/#2ef0cd403638(Jan. 12, 2018). Upon purchase of property in Cook County, the purchaserreceives a digital token and a traditional paper deed. Documents thataccompany the digital token can be used as proof of ownership. Theapproach by Cook County utilizes a Colored Coins protocol, which isbuilt over the Bitcoin blockchain to allow the digital tokens to begenerated. See Yarbrough, Karen A., Blockchain Pilot Program FinalReport (May 30, 2017). However, such approach by Cook County fails toaddress the scalability problem of continuous property transactions andlack of storage space for the transactions, and fails to include atwo-tier blockchain approach for publicly accessible and non-publiclyaccessible documents.

Further, other possibilities of blockchain utilized in the real estateindustry include recording key terms of a lease agreement on theblockchain and initiating payment of a security deposit and rent throughBitcoin wallets or bank accounts. Seehttps://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/financial-services/us-dcfs-blockchain-in-cre-the-future-is-here.pdf(downloaded Jul. 12, 2011). Possession of the property is transferred tothe purchaser and the agreement is recorded. However, no detailsregarding how such steps are performed on the blockchain are provided.Further, no distinction is made between publicly accessible andnon-publicly accessible documents.

Therefore, a need remains for assuring transparency and accountabilityfor property ownership records and other real estate transactioninformation for both publicly accessible and non-publicly accessibledocuments, while addressing the scalability problem of continuousproperty transactions and lack of storage space for the transactions.

SUMMARY

Real estate brokers manage and drive real estate transactions. Brokerstry to provide services that meet the best needs of their clients whiledealing with the business challenges of complying with all governingregulations over real estate transactions, achieving transparent andenduring accountability over a diverse set of documentation, andcoordinating multiple parties and containing the unnecessarily highcosts of business.

Transactions and their document packages must be compliant with allgoverning regulations. Real estate regulations vary by region, withrequirements at each level including federal, state, county, city, andsometimes neighborhood. Failure to comply with the regulations canpotentially invalidate real estate transactions and can expose realestate brokers and agents to costly litigation. With today's complexityin regulations for real estate transactions and documentation, there isa substantial risk of human error. This situation has created a growingand unmet need for technological support and services for assuringdocument compliance for brokers and agents.

Real estate agents and brokers need to cope with a myriad of stakeholderinstitutions with their legacy data bases and transaction-supportingprocesses that evolved in an ad hoc fashion as institutions adaptedcomputers to support their businesses and daily activities. There is agrowing gap between stakeholders' experience of real estate transactionsand growing public expectations for instantaneous and reliable access topublic records including records of property ownership. Further yet,listing agents must make many important decisions while representing aseller and such information surrounding an agent's decisions and actionsare generally maintained by multiple sources, including the agenthimself, the client, or the brokerage. However, accurately and safelymaintaining the confidential information is important in case of adispute between the agent and the client. The challenges of complianceand transparent and enduring accountability today also createunnecessarily high costs for real estate transactions. This situationhas created a growing and unmet need for technological support andservices for assuring enduring transparency and accountability fortransaction information.

Real estate transactions can be extremely complex and generally requiremany documents for review and execution to formalize the transaction.Currently, such transactions are performed manually via a real estateagent or broker that fills out each document. However, manual processingof the documents often results in inconsistencies of data across thedocuments, incorrect data values based on a failure to identify andenter updated values, data values that are not compliant with localregulations, and other errors. Ensuring the correctness of the documentsis extremely important because errors in the documents may invalidatethe associated real estate transaction. Representations of documentsthat enable both human usability and automation by allowing data entryand automated checking of the data helps ensure data completeness,consistency, compliance, and correctness of the documents. Specifically,an automated clearing house (ACH) for listing services and assuringcompliance. The ACH serves listing agents, sellers, and otherparticipants in real estate transactions including stakeholders fromoutsourced services. Additionally, support is provided to listing agentsin particular and their relationship to their clients—in regard to thecontractually-mandated and professional responsibilities and services totheir seller clients as a listing agent.

Further, ensuring that the real estate transactions are transparent andaccurate is extremely important. A specialized version of a blockchainapproach tailored to support real estate transactions. By design,certified copies of all of the important records of a transaction arebrought together in a real estate transaction block and recorded in ablockchain ledger with a timestamp. All of the documents for atransaction are available at once in a single block on a blockchain.

Using blockchain both public real estate transaction information andconfidential records of listing services can be provided. With respectto managing public real estate transaction information, an accurate,reliable, and tamperproof publicly-accessible record of the pertinentpublic information about real estate transactions is provided. Thisblockchain-based service serves the general public. With respect tomanaging confidential records of listing services, documenting andpreserving a long-term private record of services and service choicesoffered by the listing agent is provided, discussed with the sellers,and ultimately performed. This service is for reliable, long-term andauthorized access to confidential information about contracts andlisting services for particular transactions.

A system and method that includes document transformation and compliancechecking, while managing public and confidential documents solvesproblems for multiple sets of stakeholders. For agents, the documentsand contracts for real estate transactions are confirmed to meetregulatory compliance requirements, while helping the agents tocoordinate and manage the performance of an extended group ofstakeholders including the clients, outsourced listing and marketingservices, government and financial institutions, and the real estatebrokerage staff. For the community, long-term reliability, security, andaccessibility of real estate transaction records are improved and areliable record of the chain of title of real property is provided. Forauthorized stakeholders in each real estate transaction, reliable,tamperproof access to confidential information about the transaction isprovided.

An embodiment provides a multi-tier blockchain-based method for documenttransformation and accountability. A set of transaction documents fortransfer of real property is received. At least a portion of thetransaction documents is processed by providing the transactiondocuments to a tier of supernodes and selecting one of the supernodes.The transaction documents are added via the selected supernode to ablockchain maintained by each supernode. An immutable record of thetransaction documents is transmitted from the selected supernode to adifferent tier of network nodes. One of the network nodes is identifiedto commit the immutable record of the transaction documents to ablockchain of the different tier. The immutable record of thetransaction documents is committed to copies of the blockchain stored bythe other network nodes.

Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, wherein is described embodiments of the invention by way ofillustrating the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention.As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and differentembodiments and its several details are capable of modifications invarious obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and thescope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detaileddescription are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for document grouping andtransformation, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing, by way of example, the compliancesystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing, by way of example, thecompliance information management system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a screenshot showing, by way of example, an interactive formfor form element identifiers.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an interactive form showing, by way of example, adocument template with defined form elements.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an interactive form showing, by way of example,information for generating a data field identifier associated with adata field in a document template.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing a method for documenttransformation and compliance, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a webpage showing, by way of example, atransaction cover sheet with data fields for obtaining data values.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing, by way of example, data models.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a document templatelibrary.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing by way of example, an interactive form foridentifying document templates for a transaction.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing, by way of example, an interactive formdisplaying a document package.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a page for searchingfor documents to add to a document package.

FIG. 14A is a diagram of an interactive form showing, by way of example,a portion of the cover sheet of FIG. 8.

FIG. 14B is a diagram of a web page showing, by way of example, theportion of the cover sheet of FIG. 14A with a different data value.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a document template with data fields forproperty price.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing, by way of example, the compliancesystem of FIG. 2 with listing services.

FIG. 17 is a system diagram of the information management system of FIG.3 with listing and marketing services.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a page for displayinglisting services.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a document forrequesting a listing service.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a reminder notificationof a listing service.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing, by way of example, the document of FIG. 19with listing service recommendations.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a page for displayingmarketing services.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a page with a flyer.

FIG. 24 is a system diagram of the information management system of FIG.3 with purchase services and marketing services.

FIG. 25 is a diagram of an interactive form showing, by way of example,a different embodiment of the cover sheet of FIG. 8.

FIG. 26 is an interactive form showing, by way of example, acomprehensive cover sheet.

FIG. 27 is a diagram of an interactive form for generating an offer or acounter offer.

FIG. 28 is a diagram of an interactive form for uploading documents.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a cover letter.

FIG. 30 is an interactive form for displaying a document for buyerinspection elections.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing, by way of example, an interactive form forgenerating an inspection request.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing, by way of example, an interactive formshowing additional data fields for the inspection request of FIG. 24.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing, by way of example, an interactive form forgenerating a home warranty.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram showing a system for document transformationand accountability.

FIG. 35 is a flow diagram showing a method for document transformationand accountability via blockchain.

FIG. 36 is a flow diagram showing, by way of example, a process forselecting a supernode for block recordation.

FIG. 37 is a flow diagram showing by way of example, a process formaintaining confidential documents related to a real estate transaction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Glossary

Document package—a document package refers to a collection of documentsprepared for, signed, and executed by parties of a real estatetransaction. The package can include documents for listings or offers,including documents about real estate services performed in support oftransactions, such as proofs of availability of funds, contracts withreal estate agents and brokers, disclosures, inspection reports, andmarketing agreements, as well as other types of documents. Differentsubsets of a document package may be provided to different parties of atransaction. For example, different documents are typically provided forbuyers and sellers.

Completeness—testing a document package for completeness refers toautomated testing to ensure that all of the required documents areincluded in the package and that all required fields in the documentsare filled out. When specific information is provided as a value for afield, a trigger can add additional fields to the document beyond theinitial fields displayed. Additionally, received data may also triggerone or more additional documents to be added to the document package.

Consistency—testing documents for consistency refers to automatedtesting to ensure that values of related fields in the documents arefilled out in a semantically-consistent way. For example, every“initials” field for the same person should contain the same initials.Additionally, fields that have different representations for the sameinformation (e.g. “one thousand dollars” versus $1,000.00) should havethe same or compatible meanings. All related fields should conveyconsistent meanings.

Correctness—testing documents for correctness refers to automatedverification that data values and combinations of related fields havebeen verified by one or more authoritative sources. For examples,entries specified for street address, City, County, State, and Zip Codecorrespond to a correct combination recorded by an authoritative entity.The specified street address is within the specified city, the specifiedcity is within the specified county, the specified county is within thespecified state, and the zip code corresponds properly to thecombination, and the property exists. Another example is thatinformation about a “parcel number” for a property paired with anaddress corresponds to county land records. Another example is a bankstatement vouching for the availability of funds. There can be differentrequirements on what it means for a source to be “authoritative,”including having a well-known identity, using secure anddigitally-signed communications, meeting government-approvedrequirements, backing by financial guarantees, and meeting certificationrequirements of legal, real estate, and banking institutions.

Compliance—testing documents for compliance refers to automated testingto ensure that the data values provided in the documents and thetransactions proposed comply with all legal requirements. For asuccessful property transaction, no required documents can be omittedand the document versions must meet current requirements. In real estatetransactions, there are often multiple governing organizations,including federal, state, county, city, and sometimes localorganizations such as property owner associations. State and federallaws require that purchasers of property be informed of certainconditions of the property for consumer protection. Further, governingorganizations may require disclosure of the nature, limitations, andconflicts regarding the responsibilities of the real estate agents.Compliance requires that the document package be complete, consistent,and correct.

Confirmation—brokers and agents are obligated to inform their clientsabout important information in the transactions. Common practice forcompliance for avoiding potential legal liability is to provide explicitplaces in the documents for dated confirmation signatures on documentsand for particular data fields. The steps involved include assuring thatthe documents include proper places for signatures or initials and datesin the documents presented to clients and others and also checking thata document package is thoroughly checked that all required signatures orinitials are properly filled out and dated by clients.

Active documents—refer to programmatically-supported information thatcan be presented in a human-readable and legally appropriate form(“documents”) in a computational medium, with a computational substrate(“active document) that enables people to fill in or select informationand to interact with it, that efficiently supports informationprocessing of the information such as checking it for completeness,consistency, correctness, compliance and confirmation. In this way,active documents support understanding and processing of information bypeople and active computational agents intended to assure that a realestate transaction is compliant with requirements.

Transaction identifier—a string of numbers and/or letters that uniquelyidentify a specific transaction of property.

Form element—corresponds to a region on a form that takes a value from adata field.

Form element identifier—a string of numbers and/or letters that areunique to a particular form element in a document.

Form element name—a human-readable name used to describe and identify aparticular form element in a document.

Data field—location for storage of data, such as in a database.

Data field definition—human-readable information describing anassociated data field in the database to which the data field definitionis assigned and can include data field identifiers.

Data field identifier—a string of numbers and/or letters that uniquelyidentify a specific data field in the database.

Data field values—data values that populate a data field.

Bureau of Real Estate (BRE)—is a state level agency that makes rules forreal estate transactions.

Conveyance—is the act of transferring an ownership interest in realproperty from one party to another. Conveyance also refers to thewritten instrument, such as a deed or lease that transfers legal titleof a property from the seller to a buyer.

Escrow—refers to money held by a third-party on behalf of transactingparties. The duty of a title and/or escrow company is to act as aneutral third party. The escrow company holds all documents and moneyuntil all of the terms and conditions in the contract have been met andthe property is in title insurable condition. The transfer can then bemade from the Seller to the Purchaser. Title companies do not work forthe Seller or for the Purchaser. They are employed by both parties andact only upon mutually agreed upon written instructions. In Arizona, atitle company, or an escrow company, rather than an attorney, servesthis purpose.

Title—is a bundle of rights in a piece of real estate in which a partymay own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in thebundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also referto a formal document, such as a deed, that serves as evidence ofownership. Conveyance of the document may be required in order totransfer ownership in the property to another person.

Title insurance—is a form of indemnity insurance which insures againstfinancial loss from defects in title to real property and from theinvalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. The vast majority oftitle insurance policies are written on land within the United States.Unlike some land registration systems in countries outside the US, theUS states' recorder of deeds generally does not guarantee indefeasibletitle to those recorded titles. Title insurance will defend against alawsuit attacking the title or reimburse the insured for the actualmonetary loss incurred up to the dollar amount of insurance provided bythe policy.

Listing Agent—represents the seller in a real estate transaction.

Buying Agent (also known as Selling Agent)—represents the buyer in areal estate transaction.

Compliance

Real estate transactions are complicated and time consuming. Currently,such transactions are performed manually by a real estate agent orbroker for a stakeholder, which is commonly the buyer or seller of aproperty that is the focus of the transaction. The manual processincludes identifying and collecting required documents for all governingjurisdictions, identifying and applying all relevant and currentjurisdictional regulations to the documents, populating the documentwith required data, checking that the populated data is consistent,accurate and compliant with the regulations, revising the documents wheninformation changes, incorporating new information arising fromnegotiations between the parties of the transaction, adding newdocuments when new requirements are enacted, providing the completeddocuments to the other party of the transaction, and coordinatingsignatures of the documents. However, due to the increasing number ofdocuments and constantly changing regulations, there is a substantialrisk of human error, which can, at times, invalidate the transaction.Further, even if the documents are completed electronically, computersare currently unable to verify or ensure compliance of the populateddata based merely on the electronic preparation of the transactiondocuments.

Automatic document transformation and compliance can prevent error andreduce an amount of time required to identify and complete the requireddocuments. However, automating such document transformation, especiallyfor real estate transactions, is challenging and many factors must beconsidered to ensure that automated document transformation andcompliance is accurate, quick, and reliable. The challenges includedesigning representations for documents and document packages thatenable both human usability and automation. Specifically, the documentinformation should be presentable in natural language, able to beprinted or presented in digital media, while also ensuring that theinformation is in a form practical for information processing. Theinformation processing can include symbolic and numeric processing ofdata values entered into the documents, including determining whetherfields are populated with proper values, enabling entry of data fieldsmanually or automatically and comparing the data values with referencevalues and constraints. To perform such steps, information processingcan require access and integration with one or more databases, networkedinformation exchange with trusted and authoritative servers, andmaintaining a history or log of changes to the documents and datavalues. Other challenges include integrating automated informationprocessing with ongoing human activities with respect to the documents,including automatically keeping track of a status of multipleinterdependent activities and related services, coordinating activitiesand document changes, and managing incremental and ongoing document andinformation changes, such as ensuring compliance when informationchanges during a transaction. To overcome such challenges, the automaticdocument transformation system, as discussed in detail below, includes amulti-tier system that utilizes data models for checking and automatingcompliance, as well as computational agents, and multiple networked,authenticated and cloud-based servers, which allow a computer to performthe task of compliance. A compliance status of documents and fieldvalues can change as information changes during a transaction.

Compliance System Architecture and Operation

Document transformation and compliance checking reduces errors duringreal estate transactions to ensure that the transactions aresuccessfully and timely completed. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing asystem for document grouping and transformation, in accordance with oneembodiment. Real estate agents 11 or brokers 12 assisting a party orstakeholder 13 to a real estate transaction can access a complianceserver 15 via an internetwork 29, such as the Internet, to identify,prepare, and verify documents for the transaction as a compliance system15. An automated clearing house can also perform the functions of thecompliance system. Hereinafter, the phrases “compliance system” and“automated clearing house” are used interchangeably with the sameintended meaning, unless otherwise indicated. The real estate agents andclients of the real estate agents or brokers can access, fill in, andsign documents for the transaction, as described in commonly-owned U.S.Patent Application, titled “System and Method for DocumentTransformation and Compliance, filed Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosure ofwhich is herein incorporated by reference. In a further embodiment, thecompliance system 15 can be executed by two or more servers.

In one embodiment, the compliance system 15 can operate via a cloudcomputing environment, which allows users, such as the agents, brokers,and parties to the transaction, to access and utilize remotely-storedapplications (not shown) of the compliance system without requiring theusers to install software or personal data. The users can access thecompliance system 15 via a computing device, such as a computer or amobile computing device (not shown), including a cell phone, laptop, ortablet.

The compliance system 15 can include a compliance information managementsystem 16, a compliance performance system 17, a compliance outreachsystem 18, an input port 31 to receive compliance rules, databases ofaddresses and document templates, and an output port 32 to providepopulated and checked document packages for a transaction. Thecompliance information management system 16 encodes information andlogic representations for automating compliance of the transactions.Real estate subject matter experts 14 and information technologyspecialists 30, among other individuals, are responsible for thecreation and maintenance of the information and logic used by thecompliance system 15. For example, subject matter experts 14 can curateand annotate a library of documents 24 for real estate transactions thatis stored by a database 19 associated with the compliance system 15. Thelibrary of documents is discussed in detail below with respect to FIG.10. The documents reflect different jurisdictional transactionrequirements, including federal, state, county, city, and localcompliance requirements. Meanwhile, information technology specialists30 can encode, check, embed, and maintain compliance logic executed bycomputational agents of the compliance system with the documents in thelibrary and associated databases.

The information management system 16 also enables the complianceperformance system 17 to support and automate real estate transactions.For instance, the compliance performance system 17 records informationfor a transaction, selects a set of documents for the transaction basedon at least a portion of the recorded information, and transformsdocuments in the set by populating form elements of one or more of thedocuments processed by the information management system 16. The realestate brokers 12, agents 11, support staff, and parties 13 can providethe information for the transaction via a form or coversheet. Based onthe received information, the compliance performance system can populatethe documents on which automatic compliance is performed.

During or after population, the performance system 17 performscompliance checking of the document set for consistency, correctness,completeness, and compliance, as well as confirmation. The complianceoutreach system 18 interacts with third-party institutions 20, 22, asauthoritative sources, to access transaction documents 28,jurisdictional regulations 27, property records (not shown), andfinancial data 26 for compliance checking with the set of populateddocuments. The third-party institutions can include city or countyproperty records, real estate boards, financial institutions, orjurisdictional real estate regulatory institutions, including federal,state, county, city and neighborhoods jurisdictions. Other third-partyinstitutions and document types are possible.

Any errors in the documents regarding consistency, completeness,correctness, and compliance of the data can be identified via theperformance system 17. In one embodiment, errors are detected at thetime data is entered. The error can be flagged, making a visible notefor stakeholders and preventing an erroneous value from being acceptedand propagated in the document set. The note can suggest corrections tothe data entry or prompt a user to correct the entry at that time. Inanother embodiment, the errors can be automatically corrected; however,in a further embodiment, a notification can be transmitted to one ormore of the broker, agent, or stakeholder for correction. Any time newdata is entered, the compliance checking process can automatically occurto ensure that no errors are present in the transaction document set.Once the documents are complete and correct, the documents can beprovided to the other party of the transaction for review and possibly,further revision.

The compliance information management system 16, compliance performancesystem 17, and compliance outreach system 18 work in conjunction witheach other to automate document transformation and compliance checking.FIG. 2 is a block diagram 40 showing, by way of example, the compliancesystem 15 of FIG. 1. As described above, the compliance system 15includes the compliance information management system 16, the complianceperformance system 17, and the compliance outreach system 18. At thelevel of the compliance information management system 16, real estatesubject matter experts 14 and information technology specialists 30provide information and logic representations that are encoded and savedfor performing compliance checking of the populated documents for a realestate transaction.

Documents are identified and populated at the compliance performancesystem level 17 during which users, such as brokers, agents, andstakeholders to the transaction provide data regarding the transactionfor populating at least a portion of the documents using the informationand logic representations from the information management system 16.Once populated, compliance logic from the information management level16 is applied to the documents to check for correctness, completeness,consistency, and compliance of the data and the documents, using theinformation gathered by the compliance information management system andthe compliance outreach system. Prior to or during the compliancechecking, the compliance outreach system 18 performs interactions withthird party systems to obtain additional information against which thepopulated documents of the transaction documents are checked.

Documents and Data Fields

Ensuring accurate document transformation and compliance requiresautomation information and logic representations. FIG. 3 is a functionalblock diagram 50 showing, by way of example, the compliance informationmanagement system 16 of FIG. 2. Real estate subject matter experts andinformation technology specialists, among other qualified individuals,enter automation information 58 and automation logic 52 via atransaction coordinator platform 51. The automation information 58 caninclude field definitions 59, field values 60, a library of documenttemplates 61, and case documents 62, which are human-readable forms of acurrent state of transaction documents for each transaction, while theautomation logic 52 can include population logic (not shown) thatperforms document population and revision, and review logic to ensurecompliance, correctness, completeness, and consistency of the populateddocuments.

The document templates 61 can be obtained from jurisdictional realestate organizations, generated by the subject matter experts, oruploaded via the subject matter experts or a third party, as well asfrom other sources. Generally, each jurisdictional real estateorganization requires a pledge to a code of ethics and implements astandard of practice required by all members. Many brokers and realtorsbelong to one or more organizations to utilize document templatesprepared, maintained, and updated by the organizations. When new realestate regulations are implemented or laws are enacted, federally or bystate, those real estate organizations covering the affectedjurisdictions work to revise their documents and ensure that theirtemplates are up to date and in compliance with the new regulations orlaws.

Each of the documents in the template library 61 includes multiple formelements for entry of transaction data, including data field values,which are each stored in a data field, such as in a database orspreadsheet. The data fields values are used within a data model forchecking and automating compliance, and are accessed for populating theform elements. A real estate document template can include form elementsfor party names, street address, city, county, zip code, and sales pricefor the property of the transaction. Each data field that stores a datafield value is associated with a data field definition 59, which can behuman-readable information describing that data field to which the datafield definition is assigned. The data field definition is alsoassociated with a data field identifier, such as a string of numbers andletters, that uniquely identify a specific data field in the database.

The information of the data field definition can include one or more ofa text comment describing a meaning of the field, a data type, routinesfor converting a value into printable text, computational modules forcarrying out operations on a field, and a syntax checker. For example, adata field definition for a property address can include a data fieldname of “street address,” a data field identifier of “Street.Address.1,”a data type of “street-address,” a description of “this is the firststreet address for the property, must include a number and a streetname, and be consistent with a lot number in county records,” and amodule for operations to carry out entering, printing, checking,comparing a received data value to trigger compliance checking andsyntax checking.

The data field identifiers and names index access to populated datavalues for information processing and support specific access forautomating document population and compliance checking, includingcompleteness, consistency, correctness, compliance, and confirmationprocessing. Specifically, the syntax checker can be used to look up adata field value for populating a form element based on the data fieldidentifier of the data field definition associated with the data fieldand a transaction identifier assigned to the transaction. For example,returning to the street address example above, a property transaction,in which the data field for street address has been populated, can havean identifier “Trans CAL-387654-Smith-Jones-31 Dec. 2018.” Based on thetransaction identifier and the data field identifier, the street addressdata value “1302 Broadway E” is accessed and used to populate the datafield. Data field identifiers and names for related data fields within asingle document or across different documents are the same for differenttransactions. However, data values populating the data fields arespecific to a transaction and are usually different for differenttransactions. Each transaction can be associated with a data model,which can include the data field identifiers or names for documents in adocument package for the transaction and data values that populate datafields associated with the data field identifiers. The data models arediscussed in detail below with respect to FIG. 9.

In one embodiment, the field definitions 59 are stored in a persistentdata access system, such as a relational database or a NOSQL database.The database is a reference source for field definitions. However, otherkinds of linked data structures for the field definitions are possible,such as hash tables, tree-based structures, and look-up representationsand information retrieval structures.

In a further embodiment, the field definitions 59 are distributed andcombined with a library 61 of the document templates so that the fielddefinitions 59 are defined and stored in a distributed fashion across aset of document templates, rather than in a monolithic database for alldocument templates. In such embodiments, a document template isdesignated a reference template and the source of the field definition.Having data represented as explicit data fields enables controlled andspecific access to the compliance data and enables automating compliancechecking and enforcement.

To access data values and populate form elements in the documenttemplates, the field definitions can be associated with the formelements, such as via a look-up table or stored with the form elements.FIG. 4 is a diagram showing, by way of example, an interactive form 130for form element identifiers 135. The interactive form 130 can bedelivered via a web page or directly by an application. The interactiveform 130 includes a listing 131 of “form elements” 135 that can bedefined by a real estate expert or information technology specialist andassociated with a data field in a document template. Each form element135 can be represented by a data box in a template and listed via a formelement identifier 131. For each form element, the interactive form 130can provide a name 132 of the element and actions 133, which can beperformed for or on the form element that corresponds with the formelement identifier 131 and name 132. The actions can include printing ofan associated data value, triggering when the data value has changed,converting the data value from a numerical value to text and vice versa,and when a new data value has arrived. Other actions are possible. Newform elements 135 can be added using an “add form element” button 134.

Data field definitions can be assigned to the form elements withindocuments templates by a subject matter expert or real estateprofessional that can work with information technology specialists todefine the data fields. FIG. 5 is a diagram of an interactive form 140showing, by way of example, a document template 143 with defined formelements 144. The interactive form 140 can include a data frame 141 anda display frame 142, and is displayed to the real estate experts andinformation technology specialists for entering field definitions to thedocument templates. The data frame 141 can provide tabs for metadata141, inputs, and experts, as well as other tabs. The meta data tab 141provides information for defining the document template 143 and can bepopulated by the real estate experts and information technologyspecialists. In turn, the defined document template is provided to theusers, such as the real estate agents and clients. Under the metadatatab 141, document information fields can be provided, including a datethat the document template was published and last edited, the documentname, the date the document template was last revised, a type oftransaction covered by the document, and a locale represented by thedocument.

The display panel 142 can display one or more pages of a documenttemplate 143. Each document template displayed can include one or moreform elements 144, at least one of which is defined for automatedpopulation and compliance. Each defined form element 144 is associatedwith a data field identifier that indicates a type of data to populatethat data field. The defined form elements can be highlighted, colorcoded, or otherwise marked to indicate a blank field that must bepopulated by the user.

The inputs tab of the data frame can be used by real estate experts andinformation technology specialists to define a form element with a datafield definition or provide information about the field definitionassociated with that form element. FIG. 6 is a diagram of an interactiveform 150 showing, by way of example, information for generating a datafield identifier associated with a form element in a document template.The interactive form 150 can include a data frame 151 and a displayframe 152. The data frame 151 can include tabs for metadata, input 153,and expert, while the display frame 152 can display a document 154 or aportion of a document 154 with one or more data fields 155. When theinput tab 153 is selected, a form element 155 can be defined using an“add input” button 158 after providing information about the formelement, including providing an editing string, which can be the formelement identifier 156, a page of the document displayed, and a name 157of the form element identifier, which in this example is “Buyer1And2.”Other information, such as tabIndex, top, type, value, and width can beused for formatting of the data field to populate the form element witha data value. The form element identifier 156 provides that the name ofBuyer 1 and Buyer 2, if any, should be entered into the form element 155for which the data field identifier 156 is associated. Under the inputtab 153, programming information for triggering processing logic is alsoincluded. For instance, selecting a particular box, may add additionalform elements to the form for answering by the user or add additionaldocuments to the document package.

A data field definition can also be included in the inputs tab toprovide information about the type of data to populate the form element,as well as information regarding where to access the data once receivedand how to process the data. Once the form elements of a documenttemplate have been defined, the template can be added to the documentlibrary for access and use by real estate agents for real estatetransactions.

Returning to the discussion with respect to FIG. 3, users, such as realestate agents or clients, populate the defined form element with datavalues, which can be stored in the field value database 60. In oneembodiment, the data field values 60 are stored in a persistent dataaccess system, such as a relational database, NOSQL database, or anyother persistent data structure that can provide similar indexingfunctionality. The database 60 functions as a reference source for thedata values for all of the documents in the package associated with thetransaction. Additional information to assist information processing canbe stored together with the data field values or in additional storage.The additional information can include date and time the data was lastchanged, provenance information about who entered the data or where thedata originated, and links to related information, such as confirmationinformation that logs whether a stakeholder or user has confirmedreceipt and acknowledgement.

Automation logic utilizes the automation information, such as the datafield identifiers 59, to create and maintain accurate information forautomating compliance. The subject matter experts and informationtechnology specialists generate automation logic 52, which includespopulation logic for automating document transformation and review logicfor performing compliance checking of the documents. The review logiccan include logic for completeness 53, consistency 54, correctness 55,compliance 56, and confirmation 57, which is encoded by the complianceinformation management system, to automate compliance of the documentsfor a transaction. Completeness logic 53 ensures that all requireddocuments for a transaction are included in a document package and thatall required form elements for each document in the package arepopulated. Consistency logic 54 ensures that related fields in thedocuments are populated in a semantically-consistent way, as furtherdescribed below with respect to FIG. 14. Correctness logic 55 ensuresthat the data field values are verified by authoritative sources, asdescribed below in detail with respect to FIGS. 8 and 13, and compliancelogic 56 ensures that the packaged documents for a transaction complywith all regulatory requirements. Confirmation logic 57 ensures that allof the required signature and date fields in the packaged documents arepopulated.

Generating Document Packages

Each property transaction generally requires many documents to becompleted. Automated document transformation and compliance providesconvenient, accurate and timely checking and transformation of thedocuments to prevent errors. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagramshowing a method 80 for document transformation and compliance, inaccordance with one embodiment. A library of document templates for realestate transactions is maintained (block 81) for a plurality ofjurisdictions. The maintained documents include templates from differentreal estate organizations or that are newly generated. Each documenttemplate in the library has been processed by real estate experts andinformation technology specialists to group documents for differenttransactions in different jurisdictions and to define the form elements.The documents can be grouped using a document identifier or by storingrelated documents in folders; however, other methods for groupingdocuments are possible.

A user accesses the document transformation and compliance system togenerate a document package for a transfer of real property, such as asale or purchase of the property. The user can include a real estateagent, broker, or other types of real estate professionals, as well as aparty to the transaction. Different documents are relevant andappropriate for different stakeholders, which consequently have accessto different documents in the document package. For example, a listingagent can create transaction documents shared between a property sellerand the listing agent, such as a listing agreement, as well as documentsthat are provided to another party of the transaction, such as acounteroffer, which is compliance checked and included in the propertytransaction itself. Similarly, a selling agent can create transactiondocuments shared between the selling agent and client, and transactiondocuments, such as an offer, that are provided to another party to thetransaction. Further, different users can have different access to thedata transformation and compliance system. For instance, real estateagents and brokers cannot sign on behalf of the buyer or seller, whereasthe buyer and seller may not be able to access the same documenttemplates as the real estate agent or broker, such as when the documentsare only available based on membership in an organization from which thedocuments originated.

Upon access, the user can provide (block 82) information about theproperty transfer, such as a type of property transfer or propertyaddress, price, type, and owner, via a cover sheet. Specifically, theinformation can be provided as data values that populate the formelements in the documents. Other types of information are possible.

Based on the data values received from the user, a data model isgenerated (block 83). The data model can include the data values anddata field identifiers for corresponding data field definitions, as wellas additional information. Additionally, the data model is updated asdata values change, new documents are added, and new form elements areadded. Data models are discussed in further detail below with respect toFIG. 9.

Prior to, simultaneously or after generation of the data model, apackage of document templates for the transaction can be generated(block 84) based on the received data values. For example, upon receiptof the transaction type and property address, a set of compliance rulescan be identified and subsequently, the identified compliance rules canbe used to identify documents for including in the document package forthe transaction. For example, at least a portion of the documentsassociated with the city, county, or state in which the property islocated can be used to generate the document package. Further,properties located in a particular location may be part of a homeowner'sassociation and the rules of the homeowner's association will apply tothe property in the transaction. The document package can beautomatically generated based on the received data values or selected bya user. Additionally, the document package can be generated based on acombination of automatic generation and user selected generation. At anypoint prior to providing the document package to the other party,documents can be removed or added to the package.

Once identified, the documents in the package can be auto-populated(block 85). Specifically, form elements within the documents arepopulated (block 85) with data values from the cover sheet based on thedata field identifiers associated with the form elements. Any formelements in the documents not automatically populated can be filled inby the user. For automatic population, data values from the coversheet,which can be stored in a database with field identifiers, are used asreference sources for populating the form elements of the documents withdata field values. Other reference sources for populating the formelements are possible, such as other documents, as discussed in detailbelow with respect to FIG. 9. The documents can be populated onceidentified and if further documents are later added to the package,auto-population can occur once the document has been added.Auto-population is also used when data values are changed. For example,if the price of the property changes in one form element, the new priceis entered in the data model and will be used to replace the old pricein the other documents in the package.

Additional information can be stored with the populated form elementvalues or in additional storage accessible using case and fieldidentifiers. The additional information can include date and time thedata was last changed, provenance information about who entered the dataor where the data originated, and links to related information, such asconfirmation information that logs whether a stakeholder has confirmedreceipt and acknowledgement of the data values.

During or after data population, review logic, such as completenesslogic (block 86), consistency logic (block 87), correctness logic (block88), compliance logic (block 89), and confirmation logic (block 90) canbe applied to the document package to ensure a validity of the datavalues. In one example, the review logic is applied in real time as thedata values are being entered in the form elements, either viaauto-population or via the user. Additionally, the review logic can beapplied at a later time, such as all the required data is entered in thedocuments. For instance, for related form elements, checking cannotoccur until multiple fields are entered, either in the same document oracross different documents.

The review logic can be applied separately or simultaneously. Once thedocuments in a package have been checked for compliance, consistency,correctness and completeness, any identified errors or inconsistenciescan be automatically corrected or a notification can be provided to theuser to correct the error. Once the document package satisfies allchecks for completeness, consistency, correctness, compliance, andconfirmation, the document package can be provided (block 91) to theother party to the transaction.

However, prior to providing the document package to the other party orafter providing the package, updates (block 92) to one or more of theform elements may be required. For example, the other party receivingthe document package may want to change a term or form element value inone or more of the documents. Alternatively, one or more terms of thetransaction may change, such as based on an outcome of the propertyinspection or by mutual agreement. Additionally, regulations regardingthe transaction can change and must be reflected in the documentpackage. All such changes must be reflected in the transactiondocuments.

A change to a value populating a form element in a document could, forexample, occur via a user interaction when the document is stored in thecompliance system or by a fresh upload of a copy of the document. Everychange to a data field value is logged and time-stamped. Whenever a newvalue of the form element becomes available to the compliance system,the system updates the data value in the caching database. Additionally,whenever a new copy of the reference document is made available to thesystem, the system synchronizes the data so that the most recentlyupdated value is reflected in the database for populating form elements.Other implementations for storing the data field values are possible. Ineach variation, consistency rules assure that when a change to areferenced data field value for a document package becomes known, thenew data value is propagated to derivative form elements across thedocuments in the document package. To maintain transparency andconsistency, the compliance system keeps a log showing the dates andtimes of any change, and indicates where reconfirmation is required ofany stakeholder's acknowledgement of a value. The log can be used toverify and confirm certain changes, as well as track the user that madethe change should a dispute regarding the property arise.

If any updates (block 92) to a data field value are necessary, one ormore data field values are changed (block 93) and propagated across thedocuments in the package. Additionally, a change can be made to a formelement and that change is updated to reflect across all documenttemplates in a document package that include that form element.Subsequently, the review logic, including completeness logic (block 86),consistency logic (block 87), correctness logic (block 88), compliancelogic (block 89), and confirmation logic (block 90) is applied to theupdates. Otherwise, if no updates are required, the document package isconsidered to be successfully complete and can be provided to the otherparty.

The document transformation and compliance system helps to reduce theamount of time required for preparing documents for a real estatetransactions, such as a sale or purchase of property, and increasesconfidence that the documents are accurately prepared. Generally, duringa property sale and purchase transaction, a potential purchaser reviewsmultiple properties, which have been listed for sale. Each listedproperty requires a listing agreement, which includes large amounts ofinformation that must be correctly listed for the property and complywith jurisdictional regulations.

Eventually, the potential purchaser identifies an available property forsale and generates an offer for sending to the seller of the listedproperty selected. Generating the offer can be tedious and timeconsuming based on the information that must be provided and disclosed.Once the offer is accepted, all paper work for the transaction must becompleted before closing. Such paper work includes documents relevant tothe particular property and transaction, and can include proof of titlesearch, insurance, flood certification, proof of homeowner's insuranceand mortgage insurance, home appraisal, inspection reports, and closingdisclosure, among other documents, such as carbon monoxide detectornotice, new construction addendum, vacant land listing agreement, andwater heater statement of compliance. Other types of documents arepossible.

Users can utilize the document transformation and compliance system toprepare the listing, offer, and related documents. Such documents areprepared using information received from a user, such as via aquestionnaire or cover sheet. FIG. 8 is a diagram of an interactive form100 showing, by way of example, a transaction cover sheet 102 with formelements for obtaining data values. The interactive form 100 can includea navigation bar for an index 101 of pages for the transaction and adisplay of the cover sheet 102. The index 101 can include content linksfor the cover sheet 102, including a document link, listing serviceslink, and marketing service link. The listing services and marketingservices are described in commonly-owned U.S. Patent Application, titled“System and Method for Listing Document Transformation and Compliance,”filed on Sep. 4, 2019, and U.S. Patent Application, titled“Blockchain-Based System and Method for Listing Document Transformationand Accountability,” filed on Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference. However, other index links arepossible, including purchase service links, which can be utilized by abuying party to the transaction, as described in commonly-owned U.S.Patent Application, titled “System and Method for Purchase DocumentTransformation and Compliance,” filed on Sep. 4, 2019, and incommonly-owned U.S. Patent Application, titled “Blockchain-Based Systemand Method for Purchase Document Transformation and Accountability,”filed Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The cover sheet 102 can include multiple form elements, which are usedto generate a data model for the transaction. The data fields of thecover sheet can include fields for at least one broker or agent name103, at least one party's name 104, contract and market dates 105, andproperty information 106, including property identification number,street address, city, state and zip code, and purchase price (notshown). Further, data specific to a seller and his listing agent can berequested via the cover sheet, such as a lock box code to access a keyfor the property or a gate code to the property, as well as other typesof property access information, such as a combination to enter acondominium complex. Other types of form elements are possible. A user,such as an agent, broker or stakeholder, can populate the form elementsof the cover sheet 102 with data field values that are used forgenerating a data model to identify a document package and performcompliance checking. Once the cover sheet has been completed, a checkmark or other symbol or color can be used to provide a status of thecover sheet in the index 101, which in this case, is complete.

In one embodiment, one or more compliance checks can be applied via thereview logic as the data values are entered into the cover sheet. Forexample, correctness logic can be used to check data values entered intothe form elements of the cover sheet. Specifically, the data values canbe checked to prevent propagation of incorrect information in the otherdocuments of the document package. For example, a real estate agent iscompleting the cover sheet for his client, the seller, and fills out theseller's email address as adam.able.gmail.com. The correctness logicidentifies that the email address is invalid due to lacking theconventional syntax character “@” to separate the name of the emailholder from the name of the email service and marks the incorrect datavalue as an error. The error can be provided as a pop-up message or byhighlighting the incorrect data value, and can be removed uponcorrection of the data value. Other displays of the error notificationare possible.

The correctness logic can also connect to authoritative sources toretrieve authoritative information for checking the data values. Forexample, the property for sale is located at 1120 Rose Avenue, MountainView, Calif. 94040. As the real estate agent types in the address “1120Rose,” an authoritative source, such as a multiple listing servicedatabase, is accessed to obtain and display valid property addressesmatching the partial address entered. The real estate agent can thenselect the property address representing the property for sale by AdamAble. Consistency and compliance logic can also be applied to the datavalues entered in the cover sheet.

Data Models and Process Logic

Once obtained and checked, the data values of the cover sheet are usedto generate a data model. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing, by way ofexample, parts of data models 107 for different transactions. Each datamodel can include data field identifiers 108 and data field values 109.In this example, the data field identifiers are associated with a formelement in the cover sheet and documents in the library. The data fieldvalues are used to populate all form elements with the correspondingdata field identifier. The same data field identifiers can be usedacross documents, as well as transactions; however, the data fieldvalues differ for each transaction.

Returning to the above example regarding seller, Adam Able, the sellername is split into two fields with the field for first name associatedwith a field identifier “seller.first.name” and the field for last nameassociated with the identifier “seller.last.name.” The received datavalues of Adam for first name and Able for second name are stored withthe associated identifiers in a data model having an extensible set ofdata field identifiers for accessing and displaying informationpopulating the documents. All the received data values in the coversheet and document templates for the property transaction can be storedtogether as the data model.

Once generated, one or more data values from the data model can be usedto identify rules for a particular transaction and the identified rulescan then be used to select documents for a document package for thetransaction. However, prior to generating a document package, the datavalues from the data model can be used to populate a disclosure documentoutlining a relationship between a real estate agency and a seller orbuyer. The template for the disclosure document can include interactivefields for ensuring acknowledgement by the seller or buyer, andsignature, date, and license fields.

Once the relationship between the real estate agent and buyer or sellerhas been established, documents can be selected from a document templatelibrary for inclusion in the document package. FIG. 10 is a diagramshowing, by way of example, a part of a document template library 61.The library 61 provides a listing of document templates 70 that arenecessary for meeting compliance regulations and practices for differentjurisdictions. Each document template 70 can be stored with information,including template name 71, a date of last revision 72, whether thedocument appears in a listing 73 of documents relevant to the listingagent and seller, whether the document appears in an offer 74 for theproperty, last publication date 75, last edit date 76, locale type 77,and assigned locale 78. The assigned locale 78 can list the jurisdictionwhich requires the document, while the locale type 77 provides aclassification for the type of jurisdiction, including city, county, orstate, as well as other types of jurisdictions. In one example, eachdocument template 70 can be accessed by clicking on the template name.Further document templates 70 can be added using an “add documenttemplate” button 79.

To generate a document package for a transaction, one or more datavalues received via the cover sheet, such as the property address, canbe used to identify a set of rules for the transaction. Subsequently,based on the identified rule set, one or more documents can be selectedfrom the library to form the document package. The transaction can beassigned a unique transaction identifier, which can then be used touniquely identify the document package. For example, the transactionidentifier can be a unique number or string, or could be generated as astring that includes some human-interpretable information, such as thereal estate agent's name, seller's name, and a date together with anumber.

As more data values are provided for the form elements, additionaldocuments may be identified as required for the transaction.Accordingly, templates for those documents are instantiated and some ofthe field values can be filled in where they have already beenestablished. In this way, the document package grows incrementally andautomatically as needed.

In one embodiment, a listing of document templates can be presented andan agent can select one or more documents to add to the documentpackage, as needed. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing by way of example, aninteractive form 110 for identifying document templates for atransaction. The interactive form 110 includes a navigation bar for anindex of pages 101 and a documents section 111. The documents section111 provides one or more property type selections 112, a search bar 113,and a listing 114 of document templates 115. The property typeselections 112 can be identified and presented based on the addressentered in the cover sheet and a type of transaction, such as a sellingor buying transaction. Specifically, the address can be used to identifyjurisdictional organizations that cover the location of the property,while the transaction type is used to identify listing or purchasedocuments. For example, a property located in Mountain View, Calif. mustcomply with real estate regulations enacted by the state of California,as well as any local regulations. To list the property located in theMountain View for sale, document templates for listing agreements thatcomply with real estate regulations in one or more of California orlocally are identified and presented. A listing agreement represents acontract between a real estate agent and an owner of the property to besold and can include a list price for the property, a beginning and enddate for the property listing, an amount of compensation for the realestate agent, and authorization for the agent to work with third partiesto further the sale of the property, as well as other types ofinformation. However, different listing agreements drafted by differentorganizations can include different conditions based on location,property type, and preference of that organization. For example, oneprofessional organization in California includes, by default, a clausein the listing agreement that requires a property to be delivered to abuyer in operational order, while the listing agreement drafted by adifferent professional organization does not require, by default, theseller to make any repairs.

The property type selections for the Mountain View property can includea manufactured home, residential home or vacant land, or a residentialhome however, other property type selections are possible. Thus,document templates for listing agreements for each of the property typesthat conform with California and local regulations are identified anddisplayed. The user, such as a real estate agent or broker, can chooseone or more of the transaction type selections 112 for generating adocument package for the transaction. For example, if the property is aresidential home, the user can select residential documents associatedwith the selected property types are displayed or selected for displayin the document template list 114 in the document section 111. In oneembodiment, all the documents associated with the selected propertytypes can be selected for display and inclusion in the document package.Alternatively, all the documents associated with the selected propertytypes can be displayed and a user can select certain documents forinclusion in the document package.

Further, the document section 111 includes a search bar 113, which canbe used to identify additional document templates for adding to thedocument package. An agent may use the search bar if he or she hasinformation about the property or transaction that is not evident yetfrom the information that has been entered in the active documents. Inthis way, the agent can add relevant documents to the package. Forinstance, the residential Mountain View property may have waterconserving plumbing fixtures, which require an additional document fordisclosure or is offered for sale as a short sale, which also requiresadditional documents. Accordingly, based on those special circumstances,the document templates are accessed via the search bar 113 and added tothe document package. Further, the interactive form 110 can include agenerate documents button 116, which allows a user to view the documenttemplates selected for inclusion in the document package.

Based on the document template selections in the document page 111, apackage of documents is generated for the transaction and displayed tothe user. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing, by way of example, aninteractive form 120 displaying document templates for possibleinclusion in a document package 121. The web page 120 provides a listingof documents 122 for a listing agreement, for example, that can beincluded in the document package 121 for the property transaction uponconfirmation of the transaction. In one embodiment, the documentstemplates can be displayed as thumbnail images, and selected for reviewand revision. Each thumbnail representation of the active documents caninclude a title of the document and a menu, which allows the user toedit or obtain additional information about that document. Each of thedocuments in the package can be auto-populated with the data valuesentered in the cover sheet prior to display or upon display. Further,users can upload external documents via an add document button 123 onthe interactive form 120. For example, homeowner association guidelinesand papers may not be easily available to individuals that do not belongto the homeowner association and thus, can be uploaded.

Additionally, if necessary, adding additional documents to the packageis possible using a search tool provided on the page. FIG. 13 is adiagram showing, by way of example, a page 200 for searching fordocuments to add to a document package from a document template library.The page 200 includes a search field 201 that allows a user to conduct asearch for one or more documents in the document library. The searchfield 201 can be displayed on the page 200 or accessed via a menu orright click on the page 200. A user can enter a name of the document tobe added in the search field 201 and as the user types, documents withrelated titles or that includes the typed characters in the search field201 can be displayed, such as in a drop-down menu 202. Allowing a user,including an agent or broker, to access documents is beneficial toaccommodate many variations in circumstances for real estatetransactions. For example, the additional documents can includedocuments to cover pest control, military ordinance disclosure, leadpaint, and methamphetamine control, and temporary occupancy of theproperty by the buyer prior to closing. Documents covering othersituations are possible. The number of additional documents can beidentified for display based on the organization that prepared thelisting agreement selected for use by the user. Once the user identifiesa document for adding to the document package, the user can select theadd button 203 to add the document to the package. Alternatively,documents can be selected automatically for addition to the documentpackage based on data fields filled in other documents and the datavalues included in the data model. Once added, the fields can beauto-populated using the data model.

During auto-population, the population logic processes the documentsselected for the package by reviewing the form elements, looking up datafield identifiers for the data fields in the data model, and populatingthe form elements with the data values in the data model that correspondwith the data field identifiers. The user can select a thumbnail foreach document and review the documents with the populated data values.If any form element remains unpopulated, the user can enter a datavalue, which is saved with a data field identifier associated with theunpopulated form element and stored in the data model. Other documentsin the package that include a form element associated with the datafield identifier can be populated with the corresponding data value.

In different embodiments, different methods for looking up the datafield values to populate the documents are possible, depending onwhether the data field values are stored in a reference database, in areference document, or in a combination of both. In one example, thedata field values for a document package are stored in both a databaseand a reference document as a value for a corresponding form element.The reference document data field or source includes the data value ofrecord and the database functions as a cache for that value. The cacheis used to simplify accelerated data field access for populating otherdocuments. In a different example, the data values can be stored in thedata fields of a reference document in the package and any changes tothe data values can be made immediately to the respective form elementsin the other documents. In a further example, the data values are storedin a database and accessed upon display of the documents in the package.For instance, when a change is made to a data value, the value ischanged in the database and the next time the documents in the packageare displayed, the fields are populated with the updated values storedin the database just prior to display.

At the same time or after auto-population of the documents, compliancelogic can be performed to ensure the completeness, correctness,consistency, and compliance of the documents. Completeness logic helpsensure that all required documents are included in the document packagefor the transaction and that all required fields for each document arefilled in. Rules regarding each form element are associated with thefield definitions and based on the information provided by the fielddefinition, a determination can be made that the associated form elementremains blank. For example, a signature field must be signed prior tofinalizing the document package for providing to the other party. If nosignature has been entered, completeness logic can identify the fieldand send a notification to at least one user, such as the real estateagent or client.

In one embodiment, completeness logic can be used to create statusindicators that indicate unfinished elements, such as empty formelements within one or more documents. For example, the statusindicators can indicate that some fields in a required document have notyet been filled in. The indicators can appear as a pop-up message orother type of notification while the user is working on the document inwhich a completeness error is identified, when the user leaves thedocument with the completeness error, or during checking of the documentpackage. Ensuring that a document package is complete by including allnecessary documents for a transaction and that all form elements withinthe documents of the package are filled in helps limit interactions withparties to or stakeholders of a transaction before information in thedocument package is complete. For instance, the system can prevent adocument package from being sent to another party to the transaction forsignatures before required information is filled in, which can preventmultiple rounds of back and forth communication between the parties tofix the error and result in completing the transaction in less time.

Completeness logic can also be used to identify form elements to beadded to a document depending on data values that are filled in forother form elements in documents included in the package. FIG. 14A is adiagram of an interactive form showing, by way of example, a portion ofthe cover sheet 170 of FIG. 8. The cover sheet 170 can include formelements for identifying a county 171 in which a property is located andthe type of ownership 172 of the property, including individual, trust,and entity. In this example, the property is owned by an individual andthe individual's name, which can be provided under the seller's nameform element as described above with reference to FIG. 8, can be used topopulate form elements associated with identifiers for the owner's nameor identity.

However, additional information may be required based on a data valueentered by a user. For example, if information is added indicating thata property has a swimming pool, additional forms may be required. Thecompleteness logic can be performed to request the additionalinformation. FIG. 14B is a diagram of an interactive form showing, byway of example, the portion of the cover sheet 180 of FIG. 14A with adifferent data value. The cover sheet 180 can include form elements foridentifying a county 181 in which a property is located and the type ofownership 182 of the property, including individual, trust, and entity.In this example, a trust 183 owns the property, which is the subject ofthe transaction. However, additional information about the trust isnecessary to complete the documents in the package because the previousform elements did not include a request for trust name. The completenesslogic identifies the trust selection 183 and displays an additionalfield 184 for a name of the trust.

Prior to, during, or after application of the completeness logic,consistency logic can be performed to ensure that related form elementsin the documents in a document package are filled in in asemantically-consistent manner. FIG. 15 is a diagram of a documenttemplate 190 with form elements 191, 192 for property price. Thedocument 190 includes form elements for two different representations191, 192 of the sales price for a property. In one field 191, the pricedata value 191 should be spelled out in words, as is common practice forpaper bank checks. The other form element 192 requires the price to beentered with a currency indicator, such as a dollar sign followed by anumber. The consistency logic for checking syntax can refer to the datafield indicator “Prop.Sales.Price.Num,” which is associated with theform element 192 for sales price number and the data field identifier“Prop.Sales.Price.Str” for the sales price string of words. Based on thesimilarity of the identifiers, including the common portion“Prop.Sales.Price,” the data value of the spelled-out field could bechecked for consistency against the numeric sales price via theconsistency logic.

In a further embodiment, the consistency logic together with a dataentry system could derive a string representation of the sales priceconsistently and automatically after the numeric representation of theprice is entered. The consistency logic can also identify and input thenumeric representation of the sales price after a string representationof the sales price. Other form elements that can benefit from aconsistency check include ensuring that the property address in numbersmatches with a spelled-out version of the property number.

In addition to performing consistency logic on the document package,correctness logic can also be performed to ensure that data valuespopulating the form element are verified by authoritative sources.Specifically, the correctness logic can identify invalid data values andprovide suggestions for data values via an authoritative source, asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 8, 14A, and 14B. For instance, thecorrectness logic can identify invalid email addresses, such as thosewithout the ampersand symbol or a domain. Additionally, the correctnesslogic can connect to a multiple listing service or regional databasethat stores addresses and utilize those addresses to provide suggestionsfor partial data values entered by a user for an address. Other examplesof form elements on which the correctness logic can be applied includezip code and state, and street address and city, as well as many otherform elements. The correctness that a particular zip code is locatedwithin a particular state can be verified by a mapping database orproperty records database.

Also, the data values can be checked using compliance logic, which helpsensure that the documents in the package comply with all regulatoryrequirements. The compliance logic can access and use one or moreauthoritative sources to look up a required set of documents based onthe address of the property being sold. In one example, the regulatoryinformation is entered into the compliance system by real estate subjectmatter experts using a Transaction Coordinator Platform. The humanexperts consult appropriate governmental and other sources, createdocument templates, and assign the templates to the proper geographicregion. The document templates can be generated from documents preparedby different organizations, such as regional real estate associationsand groups. Additionally, online government sources can be used toobtain information.

Finally, confirmation logic can be applied to the document package priorto sending the completed document package to the other party. Theconfirmation logic ensures that all of the required signing and datingof the documents are completed. A notification can be provided to theuser to identify any blank fields that should have a signature or date.The notification can be provided by a pop-up notification or byhighlighting the blank field. Once the document package has beenpopulated and checked, and no errors exist, the package can be providedto the other party.

Listing-Specific Compliance

In addition to listing a property for sale, listing agents must alsoprovide additional assistance to sellers to remain competitive. Forexample, listing agents can assist with recommending and managinglisting services to ensure that the property is in a desirable conditionfor sale, including house cleaners, roof inspectors, and painters.Properties that are in good or excellent condition with strong “curbappeal” generally receive higher offers. Accordingly, listing agents canadvise clients on appropriate ways to improve the marketability of theproperty for sale. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing, by way ofexample, the compliance system 15 of FIG. 2 with listing services 210.As described above with respect to FIG. 2, the compliance system 15includes the compliance information management system 16, the complianceperformance system 17, and the compliance outreach system 18. At thelevel of the compliance information management system 16, real estatesubject matter experts 14 and information technology specialists 30provide information and logic representations 211 that are encoded andsaved for performing compliance checking of the populated documents fora real estate transaction. Also at the compliance level, documents anddata for marketing services 212 and listing services 210 can be enteredby real estate subject matter experts and information technologyspecialists.

The listing services documents and data 210 can include serviceproviders' names, point of contact, contact data, prices, availability,and service types, as well as other types of documents and information.The data can be used by a real estate agency to outsource the servicesfor managing the service workflow, documentation, status checking,reporting, and communication with representatives of the services.Information about one or more service vendors associated with theinformation maintained by the information management service can beaccessed via a listing agent or provided automatically based on anactive document that triggers the outreach system to directly outsourcedesired services, as further described below.

Also, as described above with respect to FIG. 2, documents areidentified and populated at the compliance performance system level 17during which users, such as brokers, agents, and stakeholders to thetransaction provide data regarding the transaction for populating atleast a portion of the documents using the information and logicrepresentations from the information management system 16. Oncepopulated, compliance logic from the information management level 16 isapplied to the documents to check for correctness, completeness,consistency, and compliance of the data and the documents, using theinformation gathered by the compliance information management system andthe compliance outreach system. Prior to or during the compliancechecking, the compliance outreach system 18 performs interactions withthird party systems and parties to obtain additional information againstwhich the populated documents of the transaction documents are checked.For instance, the outreach system can also contact providers of listingand marketing services to directly schedule services for a client of alisting agent.

Information about the different service providers are entered and storedas a subsystem within the information management system 16. FIG. 17 is asystem diagram of the information management system 16 of FIG. 3 withlisting and marketing services. The information management system 16includes transaction documents and compliance data and logic 211, whichare described above with respect to FIG. 3, listing services 210,marketing services 212, and scheduling services 220. As described above,the transaction documents and compliance data and logic 211 are enteredand stored for performing document population and compliance checking ofthe populated documents for a real estate transaction. The listingservices 210 includes documents and data that are used to provide vendorrecommendations to a client for one or more listing services usingvendor recommendation logic 222, provide a ranking 224 or reviews of thevendors based on the vendor data 223, and schedule 221 listing servicesfor the client. The data stored can for each vendor or service providercan include vendor name, contact information, prices, reviews, servicesoffered, and areas in which service is provided, as well as other typesof information.

When a listing service is requested manually, such as by entering arequest for services, or based on populated data values in one or moredocuments in the document package, the request is entered into thescheduling services system 220. The scheduling services system 220includes a calendar with entries for transaction events, listingservices, marketing services, and other types of events, and is used tokeep track of timing dependencies and the property sale timeline fortransfer of the property.

The listing services are all related to activities that will help aclient sell a property and can include carpet cleaning, home inspection,landscaping, painting, roof inspection and more. FIG. 18 is a diagramshowing, by way of example, a page 230 for displaying listing services.The page 230 includes a list 231 of services that can be recommended andselected by an agent or broker for the client. Each service can includea status button 232 that identifies whether that service has beenrequested or not. Additionally, each listing can include an icon 233 fora drop-down menu to display a list of vendors for that listing service.Specifically, the drop-down menu can include the list of vendors alongwith information about each vendor, including name, contact information,prices, and availability. Other types of information are possible. Onceservice is requested from a vendor, the button 232 associated with theservice can be changed from not requested to requested.

Prior to requesting service from a particular vendor, a request documentcan be displayed and populated with necessary information for a user,such as the agent or broker representing the client. FIG. 19 is adiagram showing, by way of example, a document 240 for requesting alisting service. The document 240 can be provided based on a request bythe client, based on a selection of one of the vendors in the dropdownmenu, or automatically based on previous data values entered in thedocument package. For example, when the user completes a propertycondition form and indicates that a new roof is needed, a request formfor a top rated roofing company can be automatically displayed. Specificvendors can be selected based on a rank or rating, as further describedbelow. The document can be auto-populated based on the data model anddata values already provided or can be populated manually by the user.

The document 240 can include the listing service type 241, a statusbutton 247 of the service type, a selected vendor 242, a button 243 forfinding a new vendor, property access information 244, and schedulinginformation 245. If a vendor different than the one identified 242 isdesired, the client, such as the agent or broker, or the client, canselect the new vendor button to search for other vendors that providethe listing service 241. The property access information can includemultiple fields for an occupancy status of the property, contactinformation for the individual providing access to the property, lockboxcode, gate code, or other types of access information. The schedulinginformation 245 can include a deadline by which the service must beperformed, as well as dates and times that the vendor can perform theservice. The document can also include different types of information.Upon completion of the document 240, the document can be submitted via asubmission button 246 to the vendor for scheduling and confirming theservice. Additionally, any changes made to the request can be saved viaan update button.

Prior to providing the service, a reminder notification can be deliveredto one or more of the agent, vendor, and client via the calendar andscheduling system. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing, by way of example, areminder notification 250 of a listing service. The remindernotification 250 can be delivered via email, hardcopy letter, text,Instant Message, or fax, as well as via different methods. The remindernotification 250 serves to remind individuals associated with thelisting service when and how the service will be performed. Recipientsof the reminder notification can include the agent or broker user, theclient, or the service provider. In one embodiment, the remindernotification an also be transmitted to another calendaring system, suchas maintained on a mobile device.

The reminder notification 250 can include a summary 251 of the request,including property address and type of service requested, detailsregarding the vendor 252 to provide the service, information 253 toaccess the property, date 254 by which the service must be performed,scheduling preferences 255 for the service, additional information 256,metadata 257 regarding the request, and a list 258 of any filesassociated with the request, such as directions to the property andproperty drawings. Other types of information are possible. Any changesto the request can be identified with an “updated” status and a furtherreminder notification can be delivered with the updated information.

The list of vendors available or provided to a user can be customizedfor a particular client or a group of clients by the real estate agent,the real estate agent's team, or brokerage. The information for eachvendor can be entered into the information management system, inaddition to any notes prepared by an individual with the brokerage. Thenotes can be used by the recommendation system to determine whether thatvendor should be provided as a recommendation to ensure that the vendorsthat are most reliable and cost efficient are recommended. In a furtherembodiment, the recommendation system can outreach to other onlinereview and recommendation systems to obtain information about eachvendor.

The recommendations can be provided to the agent or broker via thelisting service request document. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing, by wayof example, the document 260 of FIG. 19 with listing servicerecommendations. As described above in FIG. 19, the request document 260can include listing service type 261, vendor information 262, andproperty occupancy, as well as other types of information. The vendorinformation 262 can allow for display of vendors that provide theservice type 261. The display can be provided in a list or drop-downmenu 263 and include one or more vendors. The list or drop-down menu 263can include a scroll bar if a number of vendors exceeds a threshold fordisplay. The vendors to be displayed can be selected automatically basedon or more selections factors, including service area, ratings, reviews,or cost, manually selected by an individual associated with the user,and selected based on the populated data values. Other selection factorsare possible. The user can select one of the vendors for sending therequest by highlighting 264 the name of that vendor.

Agents and brokers can also help their clients to maximize marketabilityduring a listing transaction by customizing marketing services. FIG. 22is a diagram showing, by way of example, a page 270 for displayingmarketing services. The page 270 includes a list 271 of marketingservices that can be recommended and selected by an agent or broker tofacilitate sale of the property. The marketing services can includegenerating a flyer or property statement, a brochure, a “just listed”postcard, an email blast, and a “just sold” postcard. Other types ofmarketing services are possible.

Each service can include a status button 272 that identifies whetherthat service has been requested or not. Additionally, each listing caninclude an icon 273 for a drop-down menu to display a list of vendorsfor that marketing service. Specifically, the drop-down menu can includethe list of vendors along with information about each vendor, includingname, contact information, prices, and availability. Other types ofinformation are possible. Once service is requested from a vendor, thebutton 272 associated with the service can be changed from not requestedto requested. The vendors for the marketing services can be customizedor selected by the user, an individual associated with the brokerage, orautomatically, as described above with respect to FIG. 21. Further,information regarding the marketing services searched, identified,scheduled, or rendered can be maintained via blockchain, as discussed indetail below with respect to FIG. 34.

Brochures, flyers, and other marketing materials are useful to advertisethe property for sale. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing, by way of example,a page 280 with a flyer 280. The flyer 283 can be generated on the page280 automatically using data from the information management system orcan generated by the user. The page 280 can include a title of the flyer281, a list of photographs 282 of the property, the flyer 283, and datafields for use in the flyer, including price 284, headline 285, anddescription of the property 286. Other types of information to beincluded in the flyer are possible, such as website on which theproperty is available and an address of the property. The addition oftext or any changes to text already included can be saved via the submitchanges button 287. Subsequently, the flyer is distributed to otherparties to advertise the property.

Purchase-Specific Compliance and Services

Information about the different vendors are entered and stored as asubsystem within the information management system 16. FIG. 24 is asystem diagram of the information management system 16 of FIG. 3 withpurchase services. The information management system 16 includestransaction documents and compliance data and logic 412, which aredescribed above with respect to FIG. 3, listing services 411, which aredescribed above with respect to FIG. 16, purchase services 410, andscheduling services 420. As described above, the transaction documentsand compliance data and logic 412 are entered and stored for performingdocument population and compliance checking of the populated documentsfor a real estate transaction. The purchase services 410 includes vendordata 422, vendor recommendation logic 423, and scheduled services data421. Successful buying agents often help their buyer clients byproviding customized services, such as recommending and arranginginspection services and warranties. For instance, in an offer for theproperty, the buyer client may have indicated a desire for particularinspections, such as a home inspection. However, other types ofinspections are possible. The purchase services 410 includes documentsand data that are used to provide vendor recommendations to a buyerclient for one or more purchase services using vendor recommendationlogic 423 and vendor data 422. The data stored can for each vendor orservice provider can include vendor name, contact information, prices,reviews, services offered, and areas in which service is provided, aswell as other types of information.

When a purchase service is requested manually, such as by entering arequest for services, or is based on populated data values in one ormore documents in the document package, the request is entered into thescheduling services system 420 along with scheduled services data 421.The scheduling services data 421 can include vendor availability, aswell as the availability of the buyer client. The scheduling servicessystem 420 includes a calendar with entries for transaction events,listing services, marketing services, purchase services, and other typesof events, and is used to keep track of timing dependencies and theproperty sale timeline for transfer of the property.

Prior to providing and recommending purchase services, a buying agentassists buyer clients in looking for a property for purchase. Toidentify properties of interest for the buyer client, the agent collectsinitial transaction information via a cover sheet, as described indetail above with respect to FIG. 8. FIG. 25 is a diagram of aninteractive form 430 showing, by way of example, a different embodimentof the cover sheet 431 of FIG. 8. The interactive form 430 can include anavigation bar for an index 432 of interactive forms for the propertytransaction and a display of the cover sheet 431. Specifically, theindex can include the cover sheet for obtaining data regarding the buyerclient, a listing of documents selected for inclusion in a documentpackage for the purchase of the property, a proof of funds for purchaseof the property, signed disclosures, a pre-qualification for loans,purchase services for providing vendor recommendations and warranties,and marketing services.

The cover sheet 431 can include fields for the buying agent and buyerinformation, such as first and last names, email address, phone numbers,current residential address, and status of ownership of the property atthe current residential address. In one embodiment, the cover sheet caninclude different data fields based on a situation of the buyer clientand information provided by the client. For example, buyer clients oftenform a relationship with a buying agent prior to identifying a house forpurchase and if so, the cover sheet does not include or does not receivedata regarding an identity of the property for purchase. However, if aproperty for purchase is identified, the cover sheet can be morecomprehensive and information for the property can be entered into thecover letter. For example, FIG. 26 is an interactive form 440 showing,by way of example, a comprehensive cover sheet 441. The comprehensivecover sheet 441 can be used when a buyer client has already identified aproperty on which to place an offer and includes more data fields than acover sheet for a buyer client that has not yet identified a property.For instance, the comprehensive cover sheet 441 can include data fields442 for identifying the property for purchase, including MLSidentification, MLS number, APN number, and address. Additionally, thecoversheet 441 can include information about the buying agent, such ascontact information, license number, and real estate agency, andinformation about the purchaser, such as name and contact information.Other data fields are possible.

The data collected via the cover sheet can be used to generate a datamodel for the property transaction, as described above in detail withrespect to FIG. 9. The data model collects and records data during thetransaction process and utilizes the data to populate an agencydisclosure assignment formalizing the agent/client relationship, assearch parameters for identifying potential properties for purchase, andfor populating documents for purchase of the property. Additionally,information about the property or the buyer client collected afterpopulation of the cover sheet can be added to the agency disclosureassignment and purchase documents using the system logic, such asconsistency and completeness.

Once the buying agent and buyer client relationship has been formalized,the buying agent can identify and show the buyer client differentproperties of interest. The buying agent can utilize a web-basedinformation source, MLS service, or other types of sources to search forproperties using parameters, such as location, price, size, and propertytype, as well as other types of search parameters. An MLS serviceprovides information to agents about properties that are coming up forsale.

A search for properties is conducted based on one or more parametersentered by the buying agent and results can be displayed. However, if noproperties are identified that fit the search parameters, nearby orclose alternatives that do not precisely match the parameters, but whichare closely related can be suggested. The buying agent can obtaininformation about one or more of the properties by clicking on a link,picture, or listing of that property in the result list.

The purchase services described in detail above with respect to FIG. 24can allow the buying agent to deliver search results and other documentsto the buyer client, including online or printed brochures to preventthe buyer client from becoming confused after viewing multipleproperties. Additionally, a log of properties suggested by the buyingagent and viewed by the buyer client can be generated. Ideally, a buyingagent should show or describe all properties on the market that areavailable and meet the buyer client's interest to satisfy legalrequirements regarding housing discrimination and increase the buyerclient's satisfaction with the buying agent. The log helps the buyerclient from confusing the different properties for consideration, butalso maintains a record of the properties for the buying agent.Accordingly, should issues later arise where a buyer client questionswhether they were made aware of a particular property, the log providesevidence that the property was recommended and possibly visited.

Transforming the Purchase Agreement and Document Package Dynamically

After the buyer client has selected a property of interest for placingan offer, an offer may be generated. The elements of an offer ofteninclude terms and conditions, a target date for closing, earnest moneydeposit or a promissory note, method for adjusting real estate taxes,rents, utilities, provisions for paying title insurance, survey, andtermite inspections, among other elements. FIG. 27 is a diagram of aninteractive form 450 for generating an offer or a counter offer. Theinteractive form 450 can include a navigation bar for an index 451 ofpages for generating documents, such as the offer, for the propertytransaction. Under the document selection in the index, a user, such asa the buying agent or buyer client, can select 452 a template for a setof purchase documents, such as an offer, for inclusion in a documentpackage for the property transfer, as described in detail above withrespect to FIG. 11. The different templates for the purchase agreementdocuments can be based on one or more of a type of property forpurchase, a location of the property for purchase, and a professionalorganization that created the templates. A buying agent is generallyresponsible for advising buyer clients on the different types ofpurchase agreement documents that best meet the clients' interests.Different agreements can take different approaches to establishingresponsibilities, risks, and liabilities for buyers.

In addition to the purchase agreements, one or more additional forms ordocuments may be needed for inclusion with the purchase agreement. Theadditional forms can include contingencies for the sale of a propertyowned by the buyer, a remove of such contingency, notification aboutpropane tanks, requirements for increased deposits, historicaldisclosures, common interest developments, visual inspections,appraisals and waivers of appraisal contingencies, fireplacedisclosures, bedbug disclosures, time extensions, earthquake hazards,buyer inspections, lead based paint disclosures, market conditionadvisories, square foot advisories, compliance of water heaters, andparking and storage disclosures, as well as other types of forms anddocuments. As a property transaction progresses, information may beuncovered during inspections and disclosed to buyers and sellers.Accordingly, the document package changes over time as more data isobtained and further documents are generated. The user can conduct 453 asearch for specific documents to add to the offer or counter-offer inthe document package via a document search tool 453 and select 454 oneor more specific documents, such as results of a document search, forinclusion in the document package, which are displayed in a documentlisting 454. A generate document button 456 can be used to generatedocuments for inclusion in a document package, such as by filling inform elements in the templates. Presuming that this button is used by abuyer's buying agent, it would generate an offer document to bepresented to the seller and listing agent.

The documents, once selected, can be automatically populated with datacollected via the cover sheet and included in the data model, as well asby additional data collected in one or more other documents in thedocument package depending on the data available when the document isselected for inclusion in the package. Finally, once all the documentsand information are selected and completed, a generate offer button 455can be selected for gathering all the documents as the offer.

Additional documents can also be uploaded by the user. FIG. 28 is adiagram of an interactive form 460 for uploading documents. Theinteractive form 460 includes a navigation bar for an index 461 of pagesfor generating documents, such as the offer, for the propertytransaction, and a document upload section 461. The document uploadsection 461 can include a document upload box 463, a list of uploadeddocuments 464 and links 465 in the list to access the documents. Thedocuments uploaded by a user include supporting documentation for anoffer, such as a cover letter, proof of financing, loan prequalificationdocument, description of contingencies, proposed dates and payment forinspections and information gathering to resolve risk issues. Forexample, a buyer client may wish to write a cover letter to the owner ofa property for sale explaining why the client wants to purchase theproperty. The cover letter can be included with the offer documents.FIG. 29 is a diagram showing, by way of example, a cover letter 470. Thecover letter 470 can include a name of the seller or sellers, a messagefrom the buyer client, and the buyer client's name. Other content forinclusion in the message is possible.

The user can upload documents by dragging and dropping such documents. Achecklist of the documents for inclusion in the property transferdocuments, such as the offer, can be generated and maintained. Once oneor more documents in the checklist have been uploaded, the checklist canbe updated to reflect receipt of the documents. Further, notificationsfor one or more documents can be generated if not received or maintainedby the system.

Compliance and Offer Generation

Other types of documents to be added to a package can include inspectionelections of the buyer. During the property transfer process, the buyingagent should recommend investigation of the property for any risks.Accordingly, an inspection advisory document can be generated forinclusion with the purchase offer, added to the document package, andsigned by the buyer client. The inspection advisory document indicatesthat expert reports can be requested, outsourced, and produced, inaddition to any advice from the buying agent regarding any risksassociated with the property. FIG. 30 is an interactive form 480 fordisplaying a document for buyer inspection elections. The interactiveform 480 provides a document for buyer inspection elections 481 and asignature box 482. One or more inspections can be selected by the buyerclient, such as by clicking on a “yes” box. The election of aninspection triggers automatic inclusion of additional forms forrecommending or ordering inspections and for providing reports on theresults via the compliance logic. For example, if the buyer clientselection a lead pain inspection, then a lead based paint disclosureform can be added to the document package along with other forms. Thelead-based paint disclosure form can require disclosure of informationfrom the seller and authorization to allow the buyer to have a leadpaint inspection performed. Subsequently, the buyer client can enter hissignature via the signature data field 482. The document for theinspection elections can be added to the document package for theproperty.

Once all the documents have been added to the package for an offer on aproperty for sale, a generate offer button can be selected by the user.The generate offer button can be on all the pages in the index so that auser can generate an offer at any time. After the offer has beengenerated, the user can send the document package for the offer to thelisting agent of the seller.

Once an offer has been accepted by the seller, the buyer client canarrange inspections, such as those which were identified in the offer.For every inspection that is ordered on the property, a home inspectionform can be created for use by the buyer client to schedule aninspection. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing, by way of example, aninteractive form 490 for generating an inspection request. Theinteractive form 490 can include a navigation bar for an index 491 ofpages for generating documents, such as the offer, for the propertytransaction, and an inspection request form listing 492. The inspectionrequest form 492 can include a request identifier 493, which indicateswhether the inspection associated with the form, such as a homeinspection, has been requested by the user, and a name of the form 494to be filled out. The user can manually enter data in the form by typinganswers or can elect to use the autofill feature 495, which populatesthe inspection form 492 with data already maintained by the system. Theinspection form 492 can include data fields for vendor 496, propertytype 498, property access information 499, including property occupancy500, individual providing access to the property 501, notification andcode for any lockbox 502, and any gate code 503. To select a particularvendor for performing the inspection, a user can select a new vendorbutton 597 and search through a list of vendors for the inspectionservice desired. The list of vendors available for selection can becreated by the real estate agent's team or brokerage. Alternatively, theinformation technology specialists or real estate experts can enter thelist of vendors. Once the user is ready to submit the request, the usercan select the submit request button 504.

Once a date and time is selected for conducting the inspection, theappointment can be entered into a calendar and scheduling systemmaintained by the system for the property transaction. In oneembodiment, each property transaction is associated with a calendar oftasks and appointments for that transaction. The calendar can be used toreview the tasks and identify one or more of a dependency between two ormore of the tasks, a timing conflict for performing two or more of thetasks, and an interaction between two or more of the tasks. Further,notification reminders of the inspection appointments can be generatedand sent to the users, such as buying agent and buyer client. Thenotification reminder can include a task, along with notice that adeadline for completion of the task is approaching; an assignment of thetask; or a re-assignment of the task. A dashboard showing the status ofactivities can also be provided.

The inspection request form listing 492 can also include bars 505 forother types of inspections with a status bar indicating whether thatparticular service was requested 493, which allows the user to easilyidentify which inspection services have been requested. A user canselect a drop-down arrow 506 to view and or fill the data fields forthat inspection. Additionally, the user can add a request for inspectionusing a drop-down arrow 507 if there is no listing for the particularinspection desired.

The inspection request can also include other data fields or additionalinformation can be obtained from the user after the inspection requesthas been made. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing, by way of example, aninteractive form 510 showing additional data fields for the inspectionrequest of FIG. 31. The interactive form 510 can include a furtherrequest form with data fields for scheduling the inspection after theinitial request form has been submitted or can include data fields forinclusion with the inspection request of FIG. 31. The data fields caninclude scheduling information 515, such as a deadline 516 for theinspection to occur, a preferred day 517 or days of the week, preferredtime periods 518 during which the inspection would occur, and a listingof day and time preferences 520. In one example, each day and time canbe saved as a preference using a save button 519. Finally, anyadditional information 521 to be provided to the inspection vendorregarding the inspection request can be included.

Buying agents, as part of their services, also assist a buyer clientwith preparing a home warranty. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing, by way ofexample, an interactive form 530 for generating a home warranty. Thehome warranty can cover the repair or replacement of importantcomponents of the property for purchase, including appliances and systemcomponents, such as heating ducts and plumbing. Sometimes the propertyseller includes a protection plan for the buyer, which can provide peaceof mind for both the buyer and the seller. Alternatively, a plan canalso be offered by the buying agent. Most protection plans coverelectrical systems, water heater, furnace, air conditioning, heatingducts, water pump, kitchen appliances, refrigerator, washer and dryer,and plumbing, but maybe not sewer lines. Also, most protection plans donot cover swimming pools, spas, Jacuzzis, or hot tubs. Further, thefoundation and roof of the property are usually not covered.

Generally, home warranties are beneficial for the buyer to coverappliances and components of the property that are not covered by theprotection plan. The interactive form 530 for the home warranty documentcan include a name of the document 531 and a status of the document 532.The document can also include data fields for vendor 534, home warrantytype 535, air condition indication 536, property amenities 537, andscheduling information 538, such as deadline 539 for scheduling aninspection for the home warranty, a preferred day 540 and time period541, and a list of day and time preferences 542. Other data fields arepossible. A user can search for a vendor via a new vendor button, whichcan bring up a list of different vendors providing home warranties. Oncethe document is complete, the user can submit the warranty request via asubmit button 546. The home warranty document form can be listed withthe inspection services list, which is described above with respect toFIG. 30.

Sometime, sellers are not completely satisfied with the offer proposalreceived by the buyer client. For example, receiving a low-ball offer ona home can be frustrating for sellers. They may prepare a counter offerfor providing to the buyer client and the buying agent. The user canutilize the system to select and populate documents for the counteroffer.

As described above, the compliance system simplifies the selection andfilling out of real estate forms and agreements, keeps track of thestatus of documents and the disclosure of information, and assurescompliance checking. Additionally, the system supports agents and theirclients by providing categories of listing services, recommendingpreferred vendors, and coordinating interactions between clients andvendors.

Managing Real Estate Transaction Information

Documentation of the real estate transaction is important to properlyrecord an order to protect the rights of people to own and useparticular parcels of land and land-related resources. However, thetransparency and accountability of currently documentation systems aresubject to several obstacles. Generally, the documentation of a realestate transaction includes the purchase agreement, chain of titletransaction records, tax records, records of easements, records ofliens, inspection reports, and other documents mandated for compliancerequirements. Although buyers and sellers may have their own copies ofrecords, their copies can be lost, discarded, damaged or destroyed overtime. Property owners rely on other institutions to maintain backup ormaster copies of various documents.

In traditional systems, a large set of stakeholders provide and keepcopies of separate and distinct parts of the required documentation. Thestakeholder institutions include county offices, lenders, titleinsurance companies, property inspectors, research reportingorganizations, and others. The parties to a transaction and the realestate brokerage may also keep copies.

A difficulty with this approach is that if a challenge arises laterabout a transaction, gathering the official records of the transactionmay require getting documents from many institutions and is extremelytime consuming. If discrepancies arise between versions of the records,the forensic methods for assessing fault and tampering are hamperedbecause few of the institutions employ technology that is well-protectedby computational security safeguards and adequate redundancy.Furthermore, the institutions themselves may have been replaced, goneout of business, or changed their record keeping systems. Theinstitutional records are subject to failure in long-term documentstorage since traditional paper-based records are subject to the usualhazards of being damaged, misplaced, or lost over time.

Additionally, digital records are also subject to loss over time and tomedia failure, while legacy databases can potentially become obsolete asnew generations of computers and databases are deployed. Further, errorsin transaction documents can be introduced as institutions update theirlegacy computer systems and migrate records from legacy systems to newones. Institutional effort in maintaining quality records depends on theavailable funds, skills, and vigilance of the institutions to maintainrecords going back through generations of previous computer systems andinstitutions.

Similarly, agents, both listing and buying, make a series of judgementcalls about services and advice offered to clients, and documents aboutthe professional performance of the agents is generally outside thescope of government-held public record systems and mostly coversinformation about the services performed by the agents. If an issuearises after the sale, preserving information about the listing orpurchase services offered by the agents can be important for the client,agent, and sometimes other stakeholders, such as the brokerage.Currently, the records containing this information are generated andpreserved by multiple sources including records kept by the client,records kept by the broker, records from financial institutions, reportsfrom inspectors, reports from real estate researchers, and others.

Blockchain for Real Estate Transactions

Such obstacles of recording publicly accessible transaction documentsand confidential records regarding the transaction can be overcome bybringing together all the important records of a real estate transactionand recording the records in an accountability blockchain ledger with atimestamp so that all of the documents for a transaction are availableat once in a single block on a blockchain under a compliance andaccountability blockchain approach. A traditional blockchain approach isnot sufficient for managing real estate transaction documents, but acompliance and accountability blockchain approach provides documentgeneration, compliance, and secure storage for real estate transactionsusing a centralized or decentralized approach for public access of thestored documents, as well as a one- or two-tier approach for storing andreplicating document records. Hereinafter, the phrases “compliance andaccountability blockchain approach” and “accountability blockchainapproach” are used interchangeably with the same intended meaning,unless otherwise indicated.

The documents provided to the accountability blockchain can be publiclyaccessible as described in commonly-owned U.S. Patent Application,titled “Blockchain-Based System and Method for Document Transformationand Accountability,” filed Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference, or remain confidential with accessonly to the parties of the property transaction, unless otherwiseapproved, as described below with reference to FIG. 37 and incommonly-owned U.S. Patent Application, titled “Blockchain-Based Systemand Method for Listing Document Transformation and Accountability,”filed Sep. 4, 2019, and commonly-owned U.S. Patent Application, titled“Blockchain-Based System and Method for Purchase Document Transformationand Accountability,” filed Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference. The accountability blockchain is acontinuously growing set of records or “blocks” forming a ledger oftransactions. The blocks are linked and secured by cryptographicmethods. Each block includes the data of a real estate transactiontogether with a timestamp and a cryptographic hash of the previousblock.

The accountability blockchain is managed by a peer-to-peer network wherenodes, such as an electronic device, adhere to a protocol for inter-nodecommunication and for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data inany given block cannot easily be altered retroactively without alteringall of the subsequent blocks. Such alteration is difficult due torequiring consensus of the network majority. The accountabilityblockchain approach allows participants to verify and audittransactions. In this way the blockchain resists modification of thedata maintained. The blockchain can be multi-tier and utilize supernodesthat act as recorders.

The accountability blockchain approach briefly described above forsecurely maintaining real estate transaction documents and generating anactive record of the documents is not merely the use of a currentblockchain implementation and generation of the accountabilityblockchain required many obstacles to be overcome. For instance, inaddition to obstacles regarding maintaining real estate transactiondocuments, another concern is that the documents may not be genuine,such as not authorized by the required authority or exact same versionsof the formal documents signed for the transaction. To ensure that alltransaction documents are authentic, each document can be digitallysigned by the authorizing parties and a record of the collection ofdocuments for the transaction is also digitally signed. The digitallysigned documents helps ensure that the saved transaction documents areauthenticated and are the exact versions used in the transaction.

Once stored, there is a potential of deliberate alteration of thetransaction records by parties that are motivated to change thehistorical record. For conventional paper public documents, when mastercopies are made available for public inspection, there is always therisk that they might be removed, damaged, altered, or replaced byaltered versions. Digital records are also potentially subject toalteration and deletion depending on the security measures that are inplace. They are particularly at risk when the security teams ofinstitutions with low budgets are not skilled in security practices andtechnologies.

To ensure that transaction documents are secure and free fromalterations and modifications, the accountability blockchain approach isdeployed to preserve the public record, including strong computationalsecurity provisions, and to protect records against destruction ortampering. The traditional blockchain approach can be tailored tosupport real estate transactions and provide an open and distributedledger for recording the data of real estate transactions betweenparties in a verifiable and permanent way, as well as to maintain andtrack confidential records regarding the transaction.

An additional concern regarding maintaining transaction documents isthat an individual repository of digital information is subject tocatastrophic failure, either by natural disaster, media failure, ordeliberate damage by a motivated party. However, the accountabilityblockchain approach is generally decentralized and distributed acrossmany computers. Peer-to-peer networks have no central point of failure.When nodes in a blockchain validate transactions, they broadcast thecompleted transaction documents to other nodes. Every node in thenetwork has its own copy of the blockchain, resulting in massivedatabase redundancy. The massive redundancy of the network assures thatany damage to a single node does not prevent access to the publicrecords on the blockchain. In this way, the cryptographic mechanisms andhigh redundancy of blockchain ledgers provide forensically-inspectablerecords and high barriers to tampering that do not rely on the securityprovisions of any individual institution.

Storing Large Transactions on Blockchain

Digital transaction systems need to operate correctly even acrossinternational boundaries and under different legal systems andregulatory rules to ensure that the transaction documents are availableto be accessed anywhere and to ensure that the records are complete.Further, there is no central all-region legal authority to holdindependent international systems accountable. To ensure properfunctioning of the transaction system, the accountability blockchainapproach provides a computational basis for establishing trust. Thenodes (operated by “miners”) gather the records for a transaction tocreate a new block in competition with one another. In general,selecting the creator of a next block to be distributed across thenetwork to avoid centralization would discourage the stable continuanceof a large distributed network.

Further, most conventional blockchain implementations, such as Bitcoin,were designed to record anonymous financial transactions and to keepnode costs down and to encourage many organizations to add nodes to thenetwork, the system requirements for nodes require only a minimum ofstorage for saving transaction data. For example, in 2017, saving theentire Bitcoin ledger required only 125 gigabytes of free disk space andthe amount of storage of content data per transaction in this network isabout 40 bytes. See Peck, Morgen E. & Moore, Samuel K. Special Report:Blockchain World. IEEE Spectrum, October 2017. Also, as of January 2017,there were approximately 6000 bitcoin nodes in that digital currencynetwork. See Connel, Justin. How Much Does it Cost to run a Full BitcoinNode? News Bitcoin.com, Feb. 23, 2017. The health of the network dependson having many blockchain nodes, preferably at least thousands of nodes.

In designing new generations of blockchain systems for real estatetransaction and other applications beyond the original application ofdigital cash, there is a competing need to store and make accessiblelarge blocks of data on the network over the long term. Theaccountability blockchain approach balances the requirement for a largepool of low-cost nodes to robustly record the consensus of transactionswith the requirement that nodes have substantial storage andcomputational costs. Thus, one embodiment of the accountabilityblockchain employs a network with two layers of nodes to reconcile theserequirements. For example, the accountability blockchain approach caninclude a medium-sized network of supernodes (e.g. hundreds to thousandsof nodes) that bundle the real estate transaction package and robust,transparent and enduring storage and can also include a larger networkof 1^(st)-tier nodes (e.g. tens of thousands or larger nodes) fornotarizing hashes of the 2^(nd)-tier transactions.

Recording transactions in a distributed ledger of the blockchain hasless value if the information cannot be reliably, efficiently, andaccurately retrieved. As the number of documents grows, the challengesand resources increase for maintaining robust storage and efficientretrieval of them all. A design concern is that the expense of storingso much data could over time create an obstacle to wide participation bysupernodes on the block chain. In conventional blockchain systems forcurrency, the ongoing storage costs are relatively low. The costs ofmaintaining long-term are offset when nodes win enough commitment racessuch as is expected by proof-of-work protocols.

In one embodiment of the accountability blockchain approach, subsets ofsupernodes under contract can store only subsets of the documents. Forexample, some supernodes could select which transactions to store basedon location or value or some other content-related criterion. In otheralternatives, every n^(th) transaction can be stored and there could bean allocation scheme that limits the number of nodes on the network thatare licensed to store only subsets of the transactions. In that way,supernodes could specialize in markets, storing specific categories ofdocuments they store.

A known potential risk in conventional decentralized server networks forstoring files is that some of the servers could cheat by not actuallykeeping copies of the files. Instead, when they receive a retrievalrequest, they make a retrieval request to other nodes on the distributedstorage network. The problem with such selfish behavior is that documentstorage on the network becomes less redundant and robust. Various“proof-of-storage” technical approaches have been proposed to enablecatching server nodes that cheat Cecchetti, Ethan, Miers, Ian, Juels,Ari. One file for the Price of Three: Catching Cheating Servers inDecentralized Storage Networks. Hacking Distributed blog, Aug. 6, 2018and van Dijk, Marten, Rivest, R. L., Juels, Ari, Stefanov, Emil, Operea,Alina, Triandopoulos, Nikos. Hourglass Schemes: How to Prove that CloudFiles are Encrypted. CCS'12 (ACM Conference on Computer Security), 2012.

In an effort to discourage or prevent cheating, the accountabilityblockchain approach can include verification protocols that raise thecosts of cheating. The methods are similar to proof-of-work ideas inthat they create complexity challenges in storage and retrieval thatraise the costs of serving up the documents on request. The extracomplexity of the approach is offset at least in part by relaxing therequirement that all supernodes store all of the data.

As briefly discussed above, the idea is to admit classes of contractsand servers that agree to store only portions of the entire ledger forspecified periods of time. The expectation of long-term storage andretrieval would fail under conditions when storage and retrievalreimbursements are fixed, the cost of ongoing storage become too highand there is a fixed penalty for a node to stop providing the service.Furthermore, if the only remuneration for long-term storage is given upfront when the block is committed, there can be a lack of incentives fornew supernodes to join the network over time.

An inherent problem with “forever” guarantees covering perpetual filestorage and retrieval is that that the costs of reliable storage andretrieval for any particular file accumulate over time whereas the valueof most documents decreases with time. Whenever the network fails toretrieve documents from the ledger, there is potentially a loss ofreputation and goodwill for the network. This loss reflects on theentire network since the network as a whole may at times stop storingsome of the documents.

In practice, supernodes could have time-delimited commitment contractsfor guaranteed reliable storage and retrieval of the documents subjectto loss of stake on failure to keep the contract. This limits the longterm contractual and financial risks for supernodes. However, adifficulty with relying solely on time-limited contracts and fixed feesto maintain a viable set of supernodes is that the future costs ofstorage, retrieval and communication are not perfectly known. As costsgo up and down, new supernodes that can take advantage of changes incosts to out-compete older supernodes operating on fixed contracts.Judging from the history of property ownership records in history, it islikely that rapid access to most records of transactions older than afew hundred years would have limited value.

The accountability blockchain approach could also include a documentstorage and retrieval market with ongoing incentives for documentstorage and retrieval. Such a market can allow variable fees forretrieving scarce or otherwise expensive documents, based on suchfactors as the age of the transaction, the location of the property, andso on. In addition, the approach could use an auction to adjust the costof retrieval to vary with the value of the service. These variations inthe different embodiments enable trade-offs between the costs ofstorage, retrieval efficiency, and the public's good for having low-costaccess to the information.

In summary, the design challenges of the accountability blockchainapproach for real estate is to balance the requirement of large storagecapacity on nodes with the requirement for enabling a large pool oflow-cost nodes to robustly record the consensus of transactions. Toensure scalability and liveliness, the accountability blockchainapproach includes a multi-tier system. Scalability refers to thecapacity to operate at a larger scale, such as a large number of realestate transactions, while liveliness refers to operating at a quicklyenough for large scale data across many nodes. FIG. 34 is a blockdiagram showing a system 300 for document transformation andaccountability. The system 200 includes a compliance informationmanagement system 301 and a multi-tier blockchain 302. The complianceinformation management system 301 is described above in detail withrespect to FIG. 2 and is a client and stakeholder-facing platform thatis responsible for generating and transforming documents for a realestate transaction, as well as ensuring that the documents are incompliance with local and federal regulations, are correctly populated,and are complete. The compliance information management system 201 isconcerned with one real estate transaction at a time.

Once a transaction is complete, the transaction, including thedocuments, are stored on the multi-tier blockchain, which is responsiblefor maintaining a long-term data base of real estate transactions. Inone embodiment, the multi-tier blockchain can include two tiers, withsecond-tier supernodes 303 that act as recorders of the transaction andfirst level nodes that act as notaries. The nodes can be electronicdevices, including computers, phones, or other computing device, with anIP address and a connection to the Internet. In one embodiment, thesecond-tier can include hundreds to thousands of supernodes, while thefirst-tier can include more nodes than the second-tier, such as tens ofthousands of nodes. However, other numbers of nodes and supernodes arepossible and typically larger numbers are preferred.

The second-tier holds the tamperproof public records and makes theappropriate information available to the public. The second-tiersupernodes 303 are similar to the country recorder offices in realestate transaction, and validate and store the large document packagefor each transaction, including the executed contract, the chain oftitle, and the funding of escrow, among other documents. The documentpackage can be the same package generated by the compliance system,including those added via the compliance system, such as a copy of theproperty deed. In a further embodiment, the documents can be different,including only a subset of the documents in the package from thecompliance system. For example, the subsets can be generated byseparating all documents for public access and not for public access, asfurther described below with respect to FIG. 37. Further, thesecond-tier supernodes can be used to check compliance or investigate aquality of service provided by an agent long after a transaction wascompleted by maintaining listing information of the seller.

The package of information is bundled and signed, such as via thecompliance system and an immutable record of the information package iscomputed, such as a cryptographic hash, to provide an accessible publicrecord of the document package. The supernodes 303 allow stakeholders toseek information regarding real estate transactions in the publicrecord. The first-tier includes nodes 304 to provide a vastly redundantrecord of all transactions, while performing a distributed andtamperproof notary service that improves the security andtamper-resistance of the second-tier. The nodes 304 of the first-tieract as notaries and allow stakeholders to check dates and accuracy ofthe public record. The stakeholders can include owners of the property,as well as institutions, such as county offices, lenders, titleinsurance companies, property inspectors, research reportingorganizations, and others.

Each of the nodes 304 in the first-tier and the supernodes 303 in thesecond-tier can maintain a ledger, which is a record of the transactionsstored as blocks on the blockchain, that is available to the public. Forinstance, the blocks of each transaction form the ledger. When each ofthe nodes and supernodes has a copy of the ledger, alteration of therecord is much more difficult. However, in a further embodiment, lessthan all the nodes and supernodes can be associated with a ledger.

Node Selection on the Blockchain

The document packages for transfer of real property are recorded asblocks on the blockchain after at least one of the documents have beengenerated and reviewed for compliance, as described above with respectto FIGS. 1-14. FIG. 35 is a flow diagram showing a method 310 fordocument transformation and accountability via blockchain. One or moredocuments, such as the real estate sale and purchase agreement, areprocessed for transfer of a property through the compliance system,described above with respect to FIG. 2, including optionally running(block 311) a compliance check, and a document package is generated(block 312) for the real estate transaction. The document package caninclude the executed contract for the real estate transaction, a chainof title for the property of the transaction, and a record of theproperty funding, among other documents. In a further embodiment, thedocument package can be divided into sets for different treatment. Forinstance, the document package can be divided into documents that areconfidential and documents that are to be made available to the public,as further described in detail below with respect to FIG. 37.

The document package is then digitally signed (block 313) by the partiesto the transaction. Additionally, all conditions of the agreement mustbe satisfied, including payment of an earnest money deposit by thebuyer. In one example, the deposit can be three percent of the agreementupon price of the property; however, other deposit amounts are possible.Once all conditions of the executed contact have been satisfied, such asthe packing signing and payment of earnest money, the document packageis submitted to the second-tier network of the accountabilityblockchain. Other conditions that must be satisfied prior to providingthe document package to the blockchain are possible.

Prior to entering the second-tier of the accountability blockchain, oneof the supernodes is selected (block 314) for adding the documentpackage as a block to the second-tier network. Selecting the supernodeis further described in detail below with respect to FIG. 36. The blockis also broadcast (block 315) to the other supernodes and added (block316) to the blockchain ledgers maintained by the supernodes at thesecond-tier with a timestamp. In one embodiment, each supernode canstore a copy of the entire ledger for at least a predetermined amount oftime. In a further embodiment, subsets of the supernodes can each storeonly a subset of the ledger. Further still, supernodes may bespecialized and store only a particular type of data, such astransactions occurring in Washington or in California. Other methods forstoring copies of the ledger are possible.

The selected supernode submits (block 317) a request for notarization ofthe block to a first-tier node selected for recordation, as well as animmutable summary record, such as a cryptographic hash, of thetransaction documents of the block that have been validated by thesupernode. At a minimum the immutable summary record of the block isthat if the documents are changed, the record is recomputed and the newrecord will differ from the original. A further property for theimmutable summary record includes difficulty making a change or a seriesof changes to the document, such that the record for the changeddocument is the same as the record of the original document.

The request for notarization can be provided by the selected supernodeprior to or after committing the block to the second-tier network. Thefirst-tier nodes compete to be selected (block 318) to commit the hashedblock to the first-tier and the selected node is paid a transaction fee.Also, the selected node provides the hashed block to the other nodes inthe first-tier for committing (block 319) to the blockchain of eachnode. Specifically, the hash of the transaction is committed as arecord. Accordingly, each node acts as a notary of the network andprovides a robust, broadly decentralized record of the transaction.Since multiple nodes keep a record of the transactions the record isdifficult to alter. Also, since the transactions are each stored as ablock in a chain of blocks, altering data further in the chain isextremely difficult without altering all of the subsequent blocks. Thedocument package can then be accessed by the public for viewing, such asvia a computer.

When a document package first enters the accountability blockchain,selecting the supernode for committing the block to the second-tier isimportant to prevent any one supernode from having a central anddominant role. In one embodiment, the supernode with theleast-recent-block-recording can be selected. FIG. 36 is a flow diagramshowing, by way of example, a process 330 for selecting a supernode forblock recordation. First, those nodes that qualify as supernodes areidentified (block 331). In a proof-of-stake approach, a minimum stake ispredetermined to identify a set of nodes that qualify as supernodes. Inone embodiment, the stake can be a dollar amount, such as $100,000.However, other dollar amounts are possible. In a further embodiment, thedollar amount can change in a periodic auction to assure a robust, butnot too large set of supernodes. The staking minimum is held as asecurity deposit and is lost to the network if a user tampers with thefactuality of a transaction.

A time of the most recent supernode block commitment can be computed(block 332) by each supernode from the second-tier blockchain itself.Specifically, a time that each supernode most recently committed a blockto the second-tier is determined for each supernode. Optionally, thetimes can be broadcast (block 333) from each supernode to each othersupernode for verification. In one embodiment, maintaining the times onthe ledger should be immutable. Subsequently, one of the availablesupernodes with the oldest-most-recently-recorded-commitment is selected(block 334) to lead the commitment of the current document package as ablock in the second-tier. However, the supernodes must reach consensusregarding selecting the supernode with theoldest-most-recently-recorded-commitment. In one embodiment, a shorttime period is designated during which each member of availablesupernodes participates in a consensus vote to identify the least recentrecorder. To determine availability, the supernodes broadcast notices ofavailability at a frequent interval, such as in time with heartbeats,and are considered fresh if the notices of availability are no olderthan a longer interval, such as ten seconds. However, other times forthe notice intervals and for determining freshness of the notices arepossible. Supernodes may be unavailable, such as when undergoingmaintenance or are busy. Finally, the supernodes broadcast theirinferred determination of the next node according to the recency rules.

Once selected, the supernode can receive (block 335) a fee for leadingthe commitment of the current block. In a further embodiment, all thesupernodes can receive a fee. Once the current block is recorded, therecording recency of the selected supernode is updated to the currenttime and that node cannot be selected again until the currenttransaction is older than the most recent transactions of all the otheravailable supernodes. Consensus regarding recency of recordation can beconfirmed when all supernodes maintain complete logs of a transaction.However, if the logs are not complete, consensus can be reached using acertain percentage of the supernodes, such as two-thirds, that agree onthe supernode with oldest-most-recently-recorded-commitment. If suchpercentage is met, consensus is reached and that supernode is selected.For example, the Byzantine Fault Tolerant algorithm can be used todetermine consensus. After consensus is reached, all of the supernodesvalidate the block signature representing an owner of the supernode, andcryptographic hash and add the block to the second-tier blockchain.

Other methods for selecting the supernode for commitment of the blockare possible. In a proof-of-work approach, the first node to solve acryptographic puzzle and present a valid block to be committed, is thenode that gets selected to record the new block and paid for theservice. A node trying to add a new block must provide a cryptographicproof-of-work along with it. Different kinds of proof of work can beused, such as integer factorization, or guided tour puzzle protocol. Oneapproach is for nodes to solve the challenge of computing a specifiedkind fixed-length hash of the data where the first part of the hash is astring of zeroes of given length. If more than one miner finds asolution, the one with the earliest timestamp is selected.

An alternative to proof-of-work is proof-of-work-with-stake, whichallows those supernodes that have a minimum large stake to be eligible.A first eligible supernode to complete a proof-of work commits the blockand receives the fee. The proof-of-work can include a mathematicalpuzzle, such as a hash function, integer factorization, or guided tourpuzzle protocol. The puzzle should be difficult, but not toocomplication to prevent a delay in committing the block.

Generally, there is no time limit to complete the puzzle and reportproof-of-work and thus, can be subject to potential collusion by selfishminers. For example, selfish miners find a solution early and can proveit with a verifiable time stamp, but then do not report the solution. Toprevent such problem from occurring, selfish mining can be prohibited bypools that command less than one fourth of the resources, such as inselfish mining.

Another embodiment for selecting a supernode and reaching consensusincludes a combination of proof-of-work and least-recently-recordedtransaction. The first node to complete the proof-of-work is selectedunless that supernode added the most recent block to the network. Inthat case, the next supernode to complete the proof of work within apredetermined time is selected.

Deterministic random distribution can also be used to determineconsensus of a supernode selection and provides a known uniform randomnumber generator that is used by all of the supernodes in thesecond-tier pool of supernodes that meet the minimum large stake. Theseed of the random number generator is a subset of the digits of thehash of the previously recorded transaction, scaled to the size of thepool. The produced random number is used as the index of the supernodein the list of supernodes sorted by their IP addresses. If thedesignated supernode has not produced the next record within a timeinterval, the process repeats. An unlikely failure mode is that the seednumber produced is less than the number of nodes in the pool. In thatcase, any of several techniques can be used to increase the size of theseed. For example, a known large constant could be added to the seed ora string of known positive digits could be pre-pended to the seed. Othermethods for reaching consensus are also possible.

Alternative Implementations

Additionally, other configurations of the accountability blockchainapproach are possible. For instance, a set of second supernodes canexist in which long-term storage differs. In the blockchain approach,the real estate transaction data is stored on the blockchain. In thealternative, each second-tier node uses its own means to store the data,such as in a database.

Any one of the supernodes in the set can bundle the transaction forsubmission to the first-tier network for notarizing. Further, thesecond-tier supernodes can employ approaches other than block chain toprovide robust long-term storage, such as publicly-visible ledgers thatpreclude changing old records.

A further embodiment includes a single-tier of network of nodes thatcommit real estate document packages to storage on a distributed storagenetwork. All of the nodes provide enough storage for document packagesand use a blockchain approach for distributed and decentralized storageand accountability of the information and the first-tier network is notneeded because the supernodes will notarize the packages.

In still a further embodiment, a single-tier blockchain can be used,including, for example, first tier network nodes, as described incommonly-owned U.S. Patent Application, titled “Single-TierBlockchain-Based System and Method for Document Transformation andAccountability,” filed Sep. 4, 2019, and in commonly-owned U.S. PatentApplication, titled “Single-Tier Blockchain-Based System and Method forDocument Transformation and Accountability via Different Node Types,”filed Sep. 4, 2019, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference. The single tier of nodes would record the propertytransactions, which would be stored and maintained over time as a chainof title. The actual documents can be stored on a centralized server orin a traditional database and a check sum can be performed to ensurethat no tampering is present.

The accountability blockchain approach, as described above, has focusedon documents that are to be made publicly available. In addition to orin lieu of the publicly available documents, the accountabilityblockchain approach can be used to provide reliable, tamperproof accessto confidential information about a property transaction. For instance,a listing agent's services include appraising and pricing a home,getting properties ready for sale, marketing, showing properties,receiving purchase offers, negotiating price, arranging inspections,delivering disclosures to sellers, negotiating requests for repairs, andarranging for escrow and closing.

Today, most of these functions are performed in manual, time-consuming,error-prone, and expensive ways, and the information regarding thelisting agent's services and specifics of the transaction process remainconfidential. While, some information becomes publicly available, suchas the purchase agreement and deed, other information related to thetransaction need not be available to the public since they are notcentral for determining chain of title, documenting liens, or providinga basis for tax records. The confidential information can includecorrespondence between the real estate agent and client, a list ofproperties discussed and viewed, documentation about when a seller wasadvised about whether to make certain property repairs in preparationfor a sale, documentation about disclosures to be provided to apotential buyer, or documentation with advice bearing on whether toaccept a particular offer from a buyer. Other types of confidentialinformation are possible.

Storing Confidential Information on the Blockchain

Depending on the jurisdiction, records of inspection reports andacknowledgements are part of a service record and are material to therecord of the execution of the contract between a seller and a listingagent. Although the documents may be material to whether the listingagent acted in the best interests of the buyer, they are not necessarilyappropriate for public distribution. However, maintaining suchinformation can be extremely important to help prevent disputes, butalso help settle any disputes that arise. For example, if furtherinformation becomes known to the seller or listing agent after thetransaction, either party may come to believe that important informationwas withheld during the process that had adverse effects on them.Addressing the issues would include careful examination of thedocumentation. Yet, the sellers may not have kept complete copies of thedocument package and want to rely on the listing brokerage, which nowhas a conflict of interest in assisting them. The sellers may believethat their copy of the document package is missing some information orthat it differs from what they remember. The copies of the documentpackage kept by the listing agent may differ in critical places from thedocument package kept by the sellers. Either party may suspect that theother party tampered with their copy of the documents in order to coverup some issue.

To help prevent disputes and maintain a clear record of facts or actionsduring the transaction, a complete copy of the document package,including contract-related information, may be stored via theaccountability blockchain approach. FIG. 37 is a flow diagram showing byway of example, a process 340 for maintaining confidential documentsrelated to a real estate transaction. A document package is accessed(block 341) from the compliance system, including documents that are tobe made publicly accessible and documents that are material to executionof the property transaction, but need not be publicly accessible. Thedocument package can then be divided (block 342) into two or more setsof documents for committing to the blockchain. The documents can bedivided by author, subject, date, or publicly accessible versusnon-publicly accessible documents. Other factors for dividing thedocuments in the package are possible.

Once divided, any subsets of documents that are not publicly accessiblecan be optionally encrypted (block 343) as confidential information.Next, each subset of the documents can be provided (block 344) to theblockchain via the second-tier supernodes and first-tier nodes, asdescribed above in detail with respect to FIG. 34. The blockchainmechanisms for guarding against tampering apply to these records in thesame way as for guarding public information. This confidentialinformation can be encrypted to inhibit public access. Decryption keyscan be provided to both to the sellers and the listing agent, to givethem long-term access to the information on the blockchain.

To ensure that the confidential documents are only accessible byauthorized users, different stakeholders can have different accountsbased on the types of information that stakeholder is allowed to access.For instance, when a stakeholder needs to access the confidentialdocuments for publicly accessible documents for a property transaction,the user can login to his account and submit (block 345) a request for aparticular set of documents. The account of the requesting stakeholdercan be verified (block 346) and if valid, the requested set of documentsis provided (block 347) to the stakeholder. Finally, prior to receipt orafter receipt of the documents, a private key of the requestingstakeholder can be used to decrypt the documents in the set.

For the public real estate transaction data, such as buyer and selleridentification, property, transaction time, property price, easements,and other relevant information, multiple listing services with which thelisting and selling agents have subscriptions, can be used to retrievethe information from the second-tier supernodes. Information protocolsanalogous to or compatible with protocols used for MLS services can becreated, and information query and delivery services can be offered toother MLS providers.

Further, unauthorized release of the confidential documents can betracked to the releasing party by using a watermark. For example, secretkeys are kept or distributed for the sellers and the agent. The keys canbe used later in retrieving and decrypting the documents off theblockchain. Neither the seller nor the agent would have the capacity tochange what is on the blockchain. Two copies of, for example, non-publicdocuments can be kept on the blockchain—one encrypted by a key for theseller and the other encrypted by a key for the agent. Each copy can bedigitally watermarked to show the “seller's copy” or the “agent's copy.”The watermark can be specific to that stakeholder so that if thestakeholder releases the documents without prior authorization, thestakeholder's identity can be determined to address the situation withthat stakeholder. Accordingly, the documents provided to differentstakeholders can be the same documents with different watermarks so thatboth parties have an interest in keeping the non-public informationprivate. If a copy becomes distributed to the public, the watermarkshows which party was responsible since their key had to be used in therelease.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described asreferenced to the embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art willunderstand that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-tier blockchain-based method for documenttransformation and accountability, comprising: receiving a set oftransaction documents for transfer of real property; and processing atleast a portion of the transaction documents, comprising: providing thetransaction documents to a tier of supernodes; selecting one of thesupernodes, comprising one of: identifying the selected supernodecomprising identifying one of the supernodes from the group thatcompletes a proof-of-work problem first as the selected supernode,unless the supernode selected from the group added a previous mostrecent transaction, then choosing the next supernode in the group thatcompletes the proof-of-work problem; and identifying the selectedsupernode comprising determining a random number via a seed comprising aportion of the hash of transaction documents for a previous transaction,utilizing the random number as an index of one of the supernodes in alist of the supernodes sorted by IP address, and choosing one of thesupernodes as the selected supernode when the chosen supernode has notrecorded a previous real estate transaction within a predetermined timeinterval; adding via the selected supernode the transaction documents toa blockchain maintained by each supernode in that tier; transmittingfrom the selected supernode an immutable record of the transactiondocuments to a different tier of network nodes; identifying one of thenetwork nodes to commit the immutable record of the transactiondocuments to a blockchain of the different tier; and committing theimmutable record of the transaction documents to copies of theblockchain stored by the other network nodes in the different tier.
 2. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising: separating thetransaction documents into confidential documents andpublicly-accessible documents prior to the processing; separatelyperforming the process on the confidential documents and thepublicly-accessible documents.
 3. A method according to claim 2, furthercomprising: marking the confidential documents with a watermark that isspecific to a user authorized to access the confidential documents.
 4. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein conditions of the transfer of realproperty have been met prior to providing the transaction documents tothe network.
 5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:broadcasting the transaction documents to other supernodes in thenetwork via the selected supernode; and storing on each of thesupernodes, a copy of the transaction documents.
 6. A method accordingto claim 5, wherein the transaction documents are encrypted at a timeprior to or after providing the transaction documents to the tier ofsupernodes.
 7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the copy of thetransaction documents are stored on each of the supernodes for at leastone of a predetermined amount of time or indefinitely.
 8. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: identifying the selectedsupernode, comprising: identifying two or more supernodes as available;forming from the available supernodes a group of supernodes based on aminimum stake associated with each supernode; and designating one of thesupernodes in the group that least recently recorded a previoustransaction as the selected supernode.
 9. A method according to claim 8,further comprising: conducting a vote by all the available supernodes toidentify the available supernode in the group that least recentlyrecorded a previous transaction; and choosing the available supernode inthe group that least recently recorded a previous transaction as theselected supernode based on one of a percentage of consensus between thesupernodes and a log of transactions across all supernodes and stored oneach supernode.
 10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising atleast one of: broadcasting by each available supernode a notice of amost recent transaction recordation to the other supernodes prior to thevote; and obtaining the most recent transaction recordation for eachavailable supernode from the supernodes or the network nodes prior tothe vote.
 11. A method according to claim 1, further comprising at leastone of: storing a copy of the ledger on at least a portion of thesupernodes in the tier; and storing a portion of the ledger on each of asubset of supernodes.
 12. A method according to claim 1, wherein thenetwork nodes compete to be the identified network node to commit thehash of the transaction documents to the different tier.
 13. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: paying a transaction fee tothe identified network node to commit the hash of the transactiondocuments to the different tier.
 14. A method according to claim 1,further comprising: transmitting the transaction documents to the tierupon execution of an executed contract in the transaction documents andprovision of an earnest money deposit.
 15. A method according to claim1, further comprising: storing confidential documents related to thereal estate transaction; separately recording the confidential documentsas a further data block.
 16. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising at least one of: providing a digital signature on each of thetransaction documents; and providing a digital signature on the set oftransaction documents.
 17. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: broadcasting the transaction documents to other supernodesin the network via the selected supernode, wherein each supernode isassociated with a condition; and storing the transaction documents onthose supernodes for which the transaction documents satisfy thecondition of those supernodes.